Health Foods Removed from Medicare Pharmacies in Some Chinese Cities

According to reports from  China Nutrition and Health Food Association’s, sale of health foods has been banned in pharmacies in 20 Chinese cities. The ban comes as part of a coordinated action taken by local medical insurance departments^[1] in collaboration with local authorities. The rationale for the ban is simple and based on the principle that medicare pharmacies should only contain reimbursable products covered by insurance companies. A public notice was released by authorities stating that “The sale of health foods and health related foods in Medicare pharmacies is illegal. Drugstores shall not sell products that are not covered by medical insurance programs and all non-medical products shall be removed from shelves”.