The National Health and Family Planning Commission has said local health authorities should make efforts to ensure every family is signed up with a qualified doctor by the end of 2020.

In China, people are used to going to major hospitals even if they only have a cold, because they worry about the quality of the medical care they will receive in grassroots hospitals. Such a mindset not only makes it more difficult and expensive to see a doctor, but also worsens the imbalance in the distribution of medical resources between rural and urban areas and big cities and small towns.

The central health authority has decided to promote health contracts between doctors and individual households, in order to rebalance medical resources and better meet people's healthcare needs.

Beijing launched a pilot project for such a system in 2012 that provides basic healthcare to local residents. The key to the success of the pilot program is that part of the fees a family has to pay its doctor are covered by the basic medical insurance system. Under this system the local health authority subsidizes the basic healthcare of patients. The system also promotes competition between various medical institutions, which has improved the quality of healthcare.