China's average life expectancy is estimated to be one year higher in 2015 than it was in 2010 (74.83 years), said an official with the National Health and Family Planning Commission on Dec. 22.

In a report to the bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Li Bin, head of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said that China’s key public health indicators—including life expectancy and maternal mortality—have improved following medical reforms that began in 2009.

The maternal mortality rate has dropped to 21.7 per 100,000 in 2014 from 34.2 in 2008, and infant mortality is down to 8.9 per thousand in 2014 from 14.9 in 2008. Meanwhile, the share of out-of-pocket spending in medical expenditures decreased from 35.3 percent in 2010 to 32 percent in 2014. It is expected to fall to 30 percent by the end of this year.

From 2009 to 2014, government spending on health amounted to 4 trillion yuan (US $617 billion), with 1.2 trillion yuan coming from the central government. Medical insurance now covers over 1.3 billion people, with the coverage rate stabilized at over 95 percent of the total population.

In 2014, the medical insurance reimbursement ratio for in-patient care stood at 80 percent, 70 percent and 75 percent respectively for urban employees, unemployed urban residents and rural residents.