The challenge of providing health care for one point three billion people can hardly be understated.

China's 200 - million poor are often unable to afford quality medical care, and instead turn to illegal practices.

Andrew Livingstone reports on the challenge to crack down on China's black clinics.

Now summer is in full swing here in China and for many that means vacations – and for the lucky ones maybe even a trip home or on holiday with friends. As we reported recently her on BON the number of people using lanes to travel across country is increasing rapidly – but for most long distance travel still means the bus or train. More travelers means a higher demand for tickets – and, as always in China, there are entrepreneurs ready to cash in on that demand – unfortunately for rail travelers this translates into illegal scalpers. Due to the difficulty in buying tickets online more than ten days in advance - or even round trip tickets to most destinations, there is a profit to be made by those who buy up tickets to popular destinations and later sell them at a mark up.

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Caitlin Rhodes invites an ER doctor and a Chinese medicine intern to compare the two approaches to health care in China.

About our guests:

Dr. Joe Passanante, of Chicago, Illinois, is one of the few board certified emergency physicians practicing in Beijing.  In addition to treating patients at Beijing United Family Hospital, during the Olympics he also served in the President's motorcade with the White House Medical Unit, and co-directed a medical unit for NBC in the Olympic Village.

Bryan McMahon, of Connecticut, parlayed his study of Japanese and Chinese languages into an independent Monbusho scholarship at Kyoto University in Japan in 2001, where he  began his study of Taijiquan.  In 2004, he moved to Beijing in order to find authentic Chen Style instruction for the Chinese martial art, and enrolled in Beijing University of Traditional Chinese medicine.  He is now completing the fifth and final year of his acupuncture and herbal medicine degree, with a focus in modern clinical applications of ancient Chinese medical and spiritual wisdom.

Caitlin Rhodes invites an ER doctor and a Chinese medicine intern to compare the two approaches to health care in China.

About our guests:

Dr. Joe Passanante, of Chicago, Illinois, is one of the few board certified emergency physicians practicing in Beijing.  In addition to treating patients at Beijing United Family Hospital, during the Olympics he also served in the President's motorcade with the White House Medical Unit, and co-directed a medical unit for NBC in the Olympic Village.

Bryan McMahon, of Connecticut, parlayed his study of Japanese and Chinese languages into an independent Monbusho scholarship at Kyoto University in Japan in 2001, where he  began his study of Taijiquan.  In 2004, he moved to Beijing in order to find authentic Chen Style instruction for the Chinese martial art, and enrolled in Beijing University of Traditional Chinese medicine.  He is now completing the fifth and final year of his acupuncture and herbal medicine degree, with a focus in modern clinical applications of ancient Chinese medical and spiritual wisdom.

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Reform of the country's healthcare system is just as hot a topic here in China as it is in the States.  This issue was brought into sharp focus last year, when Shenmu county in Shaanxi Province put in place a pilot scheme offering free health care.  The program is expected to cost the county at least 21.6 million dollars every year, a figure that accounts for about 8.9 percent of Shenmu's annual fiscal revenue.