Chapter 716: Health and Wellness Medical Insurance Hall

Guo Wen was transferred from Municipal Party Secretary to Director of the Civil Affairs Department, and naturally felt very downcast and deeply aggrieved.

He considered that this year he had worked diligently, meticulously, and responsibly, and that every aspect of the city had shown obvious progress. The assessment would surely rank him last, but the actual circumstances should also be taken into account; the province's approach seemed overly corrective, and he felt quite indignant.

Lu Fan anticipated his emotional reaction, so before returning to Yancheng he specifically called Guo Wen into the office to soothe him, noting that managing cadres requires a blend of strict oversight and generous care, with motivation and restraint given equal weight.

After meeting, Lu Fan did not give Guo Wen a friendly look at first, and asked, "Are you feeling resentful? Do you think you've done a pretty good job?"

Guo Wen steadied his mindset and replied in as calm a tone as possible, "Secretary, no, after all I'm last. I can understand the Provincial Party Committee's decision and will implement it resolutely, without any conflicting feelings."

Lu Fan said earnestly, "The system is set for everyone, not aimed at you personally. I know Wuda City's work has improved this year, and you have been diligent and put in great effort, but compared with other cities? Yike City has a large economic scale, its GDP growth rate is no lower than Wuda's, and even the smallest Tuomeng achieved an 18% GDP growth rate. You being last gives you no reason to complain!"

The Provincial Party Committee's principle for selecting and employing talent is to match ability to role and let each person fully utilize their abilities; I must measure with a single ruler, so that everyone will be convinced, and the political ecology of the Grassland can be clear and upright, with calm seas and clear rivers!

As a leading cadre, you must prioritize the overall situation; even if you have opinions, swallow them back for me! At the same time, you must sincerely reflect on yourself, continuously improve all aspects of your ability, and settle into your role as Director of the Civil Affairs Department; the Provincial Party Committee will not bury talent!

Hearing this, Guo Wen immediately dispelled all his concerns and said with sincere devotion, "Secretary, actually I'm not resentful; I know this year's assessment has no padding, everyone has worked hard, and my being last is not unjust! Rest assured, Secretary, I will reflect deeply, feel ashamed and strive forward, solidify my ideological foundation, continuously raise my level and competence, quickly meet your and the Provincial Party Committee's personnel standards, and strive to achieve new merits again!"

Originally he harbored a self‑destructive negative mood, but Lu Fan's few words dispelled it; as long as there is hope, a department‑level cadre would never "lie flat."

After soothing Guo Wen, Lu Fan, under the arrangement of the Provincial Party Committee's office, paid respects to Party members and the masses, extending New Year greetings and best wishes to the people of the province. He also instructed relevant departments to constantly keep the safety and well‑being of the people in mind, earnestly handle assistance to those in difficulty, Spring Festival travel scheduling, market supply assurance, enriching cultural life, strengthen production safety, and ensure the provincial populace enjoys a joyful, peaceful, and harmonious holiday.

In the afternoon, Executive Deputy Provincial Governor Zhao Ziren, accompanied by Provincial Development and Reform Commission Director Liu Xianhao and the head of the Provincial Statistics Bureau, came to the Provincial Party Committee to report on the completion of the year's main economic indicators and the national ranking; the National Bureau of Statistics has already fed the data back to each province.

According to the unified accounting of regional gross domestic product, the province's 2024 GDP reached 3,365 billion yuan, a real‑price increase of 8% over the previous year, moving up four ranks to 16th nationwide, finally reaching a mid‑range level. The GDP growth rate was the highest in the country, which is great news; the Grassland has not touched first place in many years!

Grain output set a new high, and agricultural and livestock product supply remained robust. The province's total grain production reached 82.8 billion jin, surpassing the 80 billion‑jin milestone for the first time, up 3.6% year‑on‑year. Sown grain area totaled 105.2 million mu, an increase of 410,000 mu over the previous year; livestock production grew steadily. Provincial pork, beef, mutton and poultry meat output hit 3.5 million tons, up 6%; dairy cattle numbers stood at 1.65 million, milk production at 8 million tons, and large‑scale dairy product output at 4.66 million tons.

The province's industrial added value above designated size grew 8.1% year‑on‑year; the mining sector's added value rose 5%, manufacturing 10%, and electricity, heat, gas and water production and supply 8.5%; power generation reached 820 billion kilowatt‑hours, up 10% from the previous year.

The service sector grew steadily, with strong support from key industries. The province's service‑industry added value increased 6% year‑on‑year, and thanks to tourism, accommodation and catering grew 10%.

Fixed‑asset investment accelerated, with a strong surge in primary‑industry investment. The region's fixed‑asset investment grew 42.12%, ranking first nationwide…

Looking at the striking figures, the Grassland reaped abundant results, achieving the best performance in nearly thirty years, and Lu Fan gave high praise to Zhao Ziren and several others.

Lu Fan reflected, "These results did not come easily; struggle gathered hardship, and this report card is full of responsibility and soaked with diligent sweat! We must treat the results as encouragement, impetus, and a new starting point; while affirming them, we must firm our confidence, unite our forces, and achieve even better performance. The 2028 overall goal is to surpass the preceding Yuzhang Province and my hometown Qinchuan Province, with GDP striving to break the 3.8 trillion‑yuan mark! Throughout next year, the whole province must focus on adding another 600 billion yuan, deploy precise efforts, target policies, and pursue practical effectiveness."

After enjoying a relaxed and pleasant Spring Festival at home, on February 2 Lu Fan set sail again, returning to the Grassland.

On February 3, at the New Year's first meeting, Lu Fan, in his speech, issued a "mobilization order" for the coming year's development and sounded the "Charge Call"!

The Grassland's "New Spring First Meeting" was large‑scale; the conference pursued truth and pragmatism, and Lu Fan's speech was all "hard‑hitting," packed with solid "dry goods."

Lu Fan emphasized that projects are king; in the first quarter, all major provincial industrial projects must have a strong start, with large projects standing tall and medium‑small projects covering the sky. We must focus on guarantees, implementation, and investment‑production, quickly generating tangible work volume. Further strengthen services and guarantees in land, environmental protection, electricity, transportation, and other areas, and go deep into the front lines to study and solve the practical difficulties encountered when projects are implemented.

In the business environment and serving enterprises, we must not disturb companies without cause and respond to every request. If the law does not prohibit it, it may be done; all unnecessary procedures are to be abolished. The annual target is to cut 80% of approval items, simplify procedures, shorten processing times, and make the Grassland Province's administrative efficiency the nation's top.

Everyone is an investment promotion envoy; everyone bears investment‑promotion responsibility. Mobilizing the whole province for large‑scale investment attraction, gathering the wisdom of all people to recruit major businesses, continuously refreshing the "exam paper" of investment‑attraction data. Each level and department, based on its industrial strengths, proactively initiates door‑knocking investment promotion… A wave of nationwide participation in investment promotion surged across the province.

Deepen and expand the rectification of formalism, truly reducing the burden on the grassroots. Focus on solving the resurgence of endless meetings and documents, overly frequent inspections and assessments leaving excessive records, and cadres' reluctance to take responsibility, so that the vast grassroots cadres can work without distraction and focus on implementation.

Deepen the advancement of medical reform and education reform, allowing more policies to benefit thousands of households.

Implement the "Ten‑Thousand‑Hundred‑One" project, vigorously develop agriculture and animal husbandry, expand green‑storage and high‑quality alfalfa planting by 20 million mu and 8 million mu respectively, forming "Five major dairy‑cattle breeding zones," "Three major meat‑sheep breeding zones," "Two major meat‑cattle breeding zones," and a "Fur‑goat breed resource protection zone." The number of large‑scale cattle‑and‑sheep breeding counties reached 75, and the region now has 100,000 standardized farms.

Intensify anti‑corruption efforts; the fight against corruption and graft never stops. Regardless of rank or power, anyone who violates Party discipline or state law will face appropriate punishment. Strengthen the investigation of reported clues, ensuring every report is handled seriously, so the people truly feel the results and justice of the anti‑corruption struggle.

Finally, Lu Fan emphasized that every level and department of the province must strive to make greater progress in "following a single main line, handling ten major tasks well, promoting the Grassland Horse spirit, and forging new paths upstream," continuously writing a new chapter of a modernized Grassland.

Lu Fan's speech is this year's "directional sign" for the Grassland; every level and department now has a clear direction, united as one, working together, and setting sail with vigor.

After the meeting ended, Lu Fan immediately went to the Provincial Medical Insurance Bureau and the Provincial Health and Wellness Committee for research; this move was unusual, and many people watched, wondering whether their speculations would be confirmed.

In fact, Lu Fan noted in his research that, functionally, the medical‑insurance department mainly oversees the public's "money bag," handling medical‑insurance fund supervision, drug procurement, and payment; whereas the Health and Wellness Committee manages the "big kitchen" of medical services, focusing on medical‑institution construction, medical‑reform advancement, and vaccine inoculation. The two departments, though different in path, can converge completely, "eating and living together," achieving coordinated operations in the medical and medical‑insurance fields.

Lu Fan's view is very clear: medical services, public health, medical insurance, and pharmaceuticals must be integrated under a unified management mechanism. Otherwise, the "Three‑Medicine Coordination" will forever remain a paper exercise. Truly advancing medical reform hinges on unified command and unified action.

Lu Fan instructed the Provincial Organization Department and the Provincial Organization Office to promptly produce a merger plan and implement the institutional reform fully. Cities and counties should follow the provincial plan to ensure the reform stays on track.

This explains why, before Lu Fan's tenure, the Medical Insurance Bureau's leadership team was not staffed: the Provincial Medical Insurance Bureau's director and three deputy directors were all vacant. The newly established "Provincial Health and Wellness Medical Insurance Hall" will be headed by Wang Dong, director of the Provincial Health and Wellness Committee, so at least there is no need to dissolve leadership members. As for the departments, the Provincial Organization Office, based on the functions of the two units, merged the offices from 36 down to 25, and reduced the directly affiliated institutions from 25 to 21.

When the news broke, the entire province was shocked! Cities and counties acted swiftly, executing the Provincial Party Committee's and Provincial Government's decisions without compromise.

Lu Fan has been harnessing execution power for over a year, and now results are evident.