ABSTRACT
This problem becomes evident when normal day-to-day living is aggravated by illness or loss of a source of income. The interdependence of illness and the social system is often evident in these cases. The familiar vicious circle of illness and poverty - illness can cause poverty and vice versa - hits the poor particularly hard, when, as with a large portion of the unemployed or with the 'floating' population, no health insurance protection is available. The GIS and LIS have not been effective in addressing the issue of equity in access to health services for these groups. Approximately 40 per cent of the entire urban population of China is uninsured (Ministry ofHealth, 1998b, p.18).
