Negotiators work to bring down nation's prescriptions

Public paying dramatically less for therapeutic drugs thanks to bulk-buy scheme

When Mu Anna negotiates with drugmakers who want their treatments included on China's national medical reimbursement list, her primary concern is securing high-quality drugs at an affordable price.

The official with the National Healthcare Security Administration has made it her goal to make sure that people enrolled in China's basic national health insurance program — about 95 percent of its population of around 1.4 billion — get the best deal.

The costs of drugs included on the national reimbursement list are paid back to patients via the public healthcare fund either partially or in full.