Whats the deal w. China and its health care?!?!?

Question

I am wondering what is the current situation in China and health care.

is it expensive or something?

I heard a rumor that prices are so high that people will commit suicide instead of paying for doctors bc they can not afford it.

(this info coming from the article on the urine-tea scandle. Doctors saying their urine was infected so that they woulkd have to buy drugs, even though it was actually TEA, obviously not infected)

Answer 1

Leah - I live in Shanghai and before that Beijing, I have several doctor friends and the bigger problem is there is no health insurance for kids and the patient doctor relationship is HORRIBLE, my doctor friends tell me doctors are getting beat up in the hospitals b/c patients don't trust them, I think the cost is still pretty low compared to the USA but it is expensive for the common Chinese person, the Chinese govt. also restructured their health care in the 90's and basically left most people without coverage, it is a pretty desperate situation

Answer 2

China's healthcare is largely state operated (as are many things in China). The problem is that the health care infrastructure and staff cannot cope with the sheer size of China's population.
Hence treatment is rationed, and often not on the basis of need. This leads people into the private sector where demand keeps prices relatively high (although not comparable to Western prices, but relative to local earnings very high).
As China's economy becomes more free, and as it's social policies start to allow for greater freedoms of information and media I am sure it will improve. But many in the developing world have no practical access to the healthcare we take for granted.

Answer 3

Bull ****! They can kiss my blk a.ss