BEIJING - The Chinese government earmarked more than 1.5 trillion yuan (about 222 billion US dollars) for its healthcare sector in 2018, 84 billion yuan more than the previous year, Health News reported Friday.

The country's fiscal expenditure on healthcare between 2013 and 2017 totaled over 5.9 trillion yuan, posting an average annual growth of 11.7 percent, said the newspaper citing a report from the State Council.

The ever-increasing government input in the healthcare program has continuously cut people's spending in this regard.

In 2017, personal spending on healthcare shared 28.8 percent of the total expenses, a record low during the past two decades, read the report.

As of the end of 2017, more than 8 million impoverished people received inpatient treatment or special medical services for chronic diseases, covering nearly 95 percent of patients with serious or chronic illnesses, it said.