01-Apr-16 Big budget increases have been made in China for healthcare and family planning, which will get a 47% boost to RMB12.43 bn (USD1.9 bn). Spending on rural health centers will double in 2016, and the budget for government medical insurance will increase nearly five-fold. [image: The Telegraph / Getty]

30-Mar-16 Hundreds of Australians implanted with a defective hip device will be eligible for a share of AUD250 mn in compensation following the conditional settlement of a long-running class action. It is estimated 1,700 Australians will be eligible to share in the settlement. The action was started in 2010 after a worldwide recall of the DePuy device. [image: DePuy]

31-Mar-16 The WHO has urged the Southeast Asian nations to intensify efforts to make the Universal Health Coverage a reality. According to WHO, an estimated 130 million people in WHO Southeast Asia region lack access to essential health services and over 50 million people are pushed into poverty every year because of healthcare costs. [image: World Health Organization]

31-Mar-16 Private health sector operators in Australia, including insurers and pharmacists, are pushing for bigger roles in patient care after the federal government unveiled plans to shake up care for Australians with chronic disease such as diabetes and arthritis. [image: Tim Boyle / Getty Images]

31-Mar-16 Thousands of chronically ill patients in Australia will receive tailored health services under a trial the government intends to roll out nationally. About 65,000 people would be part of the first trials of the package, which involved up to 200 medical practices. [image: Daniel Munoz / The Sydney Morning Herald]