民间流传这么几句话：同病不同价，能差300倍；问诊不细致，上来就化验…… 一看就知，这是老百姓最为关注的看病难、吃药难问题。两会上，国家副总理吴仪向给委员致歉，承认未能杀住药价居高不下这一恶风。目前我国的药品价格混乱异常，药品虚高定价、打回扣、一药多价、一药多名等现象屡禁不止。

Vice-Premier Wu Yi apologized to lawmakers yesterday for failing to check soaringmedical expenses.

"People are dissatisfied, and I feel guilty for that. I should apologize to you," Wu said at a panel discussion with lawmakers on the sidelines of the Fifth Session of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC).

Wu, who successfully steered China's negotiations with the World Trade Organization, is the only female vice-premier in the cabinet. Her jurisdiction includes health and medical services.

Rising medical costs have become a major concern in China. And a series of accidents caused bysubstandard food and medicineadded to people's woes.

"Food and drug safety are a matter of people's health and security," Wu said.

Statistics show that nearly 70 percent of China's food producers are small factories or workshops. More than 85 percent of China's drug manufacturers are small companies with annual sales revenue of less than 100 million yuan ($12.9 million).

Wu promised that the government would more closely supervise small workshops, food stores, stalls and eateries, the likeliest sources of food poisoning.

The government will also monitor food and drug makers and distributors more closely, Wu said.

She also promised to address problems in the medicine sector and said the country's drug watchdog would improve the administrative system for drug research and production.

'Basic medicine system'

Health Minister Gao Qiang said yesterday that China had pinned its hopes on a "basic medicine system" to tackle complaints about limited public access to medicine.

"High drug prices are a major reason for high medical expenses. The key to this problem is to set up a basic medicine system," Gao told reporters on the sidelines of the ongoing parliamentary session.

The system, which would include a catalogue of necessary drugs that would be produced and distributed under government control and supervision, could help ensure access to a range of basic medicines and prevent manufacturers and business people from circumventing existing price controls, Gao said.