The largest communist country is China and it has one of the newest healthcare systems among all countries. New healthcare reforms were implemented in 1998, 2003, and 2007 in order to overhaul the healthcare system that had collapsed in the 1970s. It is easily assumed that since China is a communist country that the government provides and pays for all of the services and that everyone receives coverage. This is not the case, as it is a monumental task to provide healthcare for 1.3 billion people in such diverse geographic and economic areas of China. There are vast differences in coverage of urban and rural residents. In general, everyone receives inpatient (hospitalization) coverage and outpatient coverage is limited and varies by location. Rural residents are covered for outpatient services for catastrophic illnesses but not for routine outpatient services. Individuals who live in urban areas and who are employed must pay a small portion of their healthcare costs and the employer pays a portion. If a person is unemployed, such as a college student, the government pays for the majority of services and the family of the student must pay a portion. The Chinese government is encouraging the formation of private insurance companies to supplement the government programs. Public hospital reforms were implemented in 2014 to increase funding and to adequately pay doctors. Many of the rural hospitals are under-funded, doctors are underpaid, and there is a lot of corruption in the hospital system. This is just a quick glimpse of the Chinese communist healthcare system and it may not be what you envisioned.