Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), has suggested that the government's decision may not have been adequately explained to the public.
[1] China's healthcare system has long faced funding issues, and these challenges have only worsened in recent years due to the high cost of zero-COVID policies.
[1][2] On 8 February 2023, thousands of retirees in Wuhan gathered in front of the city government to protest the slashing of medical subsidies.
Most of the demonstrators were elderly citizens who opposed recent changes to the local healthcare insurance system, claiming that the reforms would make medical care more costly and reduce their access to it.
[1][4] In response to the protests, there was a large police presence in both cities, with some protestors alleging that local authorities were aware of the events in advance.