Ridiculous horror stories, such as?

As mentioned above SOS International is very good and is just like a hospital in the U.S. or England other European countries. It familiar service and equipment come at a price, it is very expensive. I have went there with a sore throat before and left with my wallet 2000rmb lighter. But how can you put a price on health, my friends laughed at me and said a Chinese hospital would have only charged me a few 100 rmb. Then again, they would have told me my strep throat was just "sheng hua" or that I should drink some tea or something and it will go away.

You guys do realize that SOS is just a clinic, right? It's NOT a hospital. There's a big difference.

They have no inpatient. They do NOT have a real ER, it's just a ward. If you have anything worse than a simple fracture they will want to put you on a plane for their air evacuation to Hong Kong or Japan or the US or something. Also keep in mind SOS only has the one plane, meaning they will most likely put you on a commercial airliner (didn't know that, huh?).

In most cases they will refer you to a hospital in Beijing (probably Beijing United).

They often do not have specialists there, like pediatricians. They have most services but not all. Keep that in mind that when you go to SOS or Vista or IMC or whatever that they are all clinics and are NOT full-service hospitals. For outpatient care, SOS is great. For more urgent things or serious problems requiring specialists, do some research.

And yes, all the expat care here is very expensive.

I think we know Beijing United is not the most expensive hospital in *Asia.* Even in China there's Parkway in Shanghai and many VERY expensive hospitals in Hong Kong that could easily compete for that title in China alone. Also, it's not needlessly expensive. There's excellent care to be found at BJU, but luckily many options in this city of ours.

Also, don't forget that Amcare doesn't have a single English-speaking doctor. This isn't to say their service isn't good, but you'll need a translator for any consultation if you don't speak Chinese. Also Amcare has no NICU or ICU so if there's any serious problem they will ship you off to another hospital.

JonJon's story is a very familiar one for anybody who's been in Beijing for more than a couple of months.

Realize that most international healthcare providers came here only a little more than 10 years ago, around the same time I arrived. At that time local care was a lot less patient-service oriented and the local hospital model was different enough that many foreigners flocked to familiar service in these clinics.

These private international clinics survive mostly because expatriates want Western-style care in a Western-style setting with foreign doctors. You'll find a good deal of Chinese doctors working at these international clinics also work at local Chinese hospitals (gasp).

Services appear jacked-up at international clinics, OTC and medications are more expensive, consultations are more expensive, etc. On the surface, they're all much cheaper at local Chinese hospitals.

Why is this? Well the care isn't the same. You're paying for the setting, the English, the privacy and appointments. You're also paying for better levels of safety and quality (at least that's the idea). However, I feel the price difference is mostly because of expenses and moneymaking (gasp gasp!). Foreign doctors are expensive. It's expensive to meet certain international quality standards because you can't cut corners (that'll give you something to think about, kids). There's also the mentality at the international providers that foreigners with insurance don't care how much they pay as long as it's covered. These are the main targets for such businesses. If you want to go further with that, there's also the customer demographic - many of these clinics (especially SOS) still take the 10-year-ago-view of how expats viewed healthcare here, which is ignorance and fear. Honestly, still it hasn't changed too much for many expats, but it is improving.

It's only natural to trust what's familiar, especially if you're new to a country. That's why SOS has air evac, which 10 years ago was actually a fairly good option. Now it's a reactionary money-making gimmick (not to say it can't be useful for some extreme cases). Still there will be expats (and I'm one of them) who are just more at ease at an international provider and want to have their care rendered there - keeping in mind I'm fully insured. This isn't a choice for many expats because they don't have medical insurance.

International healthcare providers in Beijing are there for those who want high quality medical service rendered by expat docs or foreign-trained Chinese docs in a good, safe environment with excellent service and privacy - again, at least that's the idea. You get what you pay for.

Many expats are not confident or comfortable with navigating the Chinese healthcare system. I've had care rendered at both and I can say definitively that yes, international clinics still have a place here in terms of patient service and privacy. Do what feels comfortable for you and works. Simply saying with great fanfare and epiphany that local Chinese hospitals do the same services as international providers for much cheaper isn't helpful. It isn't exactly true either, as it's not in the same environment with necessarily the same equipment or consumables, nor is the expertise or support the same. Knowing that you have viable options IS helpful - there are great providers here from both sides, especially Beijing United Family Hospital and SOS, HK Clinic, as well as a range of local Chinese locations.

Ask yourself, knowing this, would you like to realistically navigate your way through a Chinese hospital if you or a loved one gets sick or seriously hurt? Are you confident and cool with that? If yes, wonderful. If no, stop complaining about a system you have absolutely no control over and that many other people value greatly.

To those who think that the international providers are just too expensive, I say wake up. You're not in your home country anymore and if you want that kind of care you're going to have to pay for it. You won't always have an amazing experience at one of these places either. If your pocketbook demands that you go to a Chinese place, do your research. Take a Chinese friend if you don't speak the language.

Times are changing and as JonJon points out, there is good English language healthcare available at some Chinese facilities (PUMC's foreigner wing also comes to mind here). Will the international providers go the way of the dodo? Not likely in the near future, and that's good for many of us.

DocOC is right he knows what he is talking about.

In the end, we all know that the Chinese health care system is improving but hasn't reached the level deemed accepted by most foreigners.

Some stories I find very illustrative:

1) A friend's girlfriend had this weird belly pain and went to 协和, that hospital between Wangfujing and Dongdan with and international section. They ran a lot of exams on her and didn't find out what she had. In the end they gave her an injection for the pain and released her. Her bill was upwards of RMB 8000, according to what he said. He had the same things couple of weeks later, but since he had seen what happened to her, he just asked for the medicine and his bill was RMB 1500. He said the worst thing was having to face bureaucracy and the lines while agonizing in pain.

In contrast, I had a similar episode. In my case I knew it was a crisis of gasthritis. Since I had insurance I went to BJU. they admitted and I was speaking with a doctor less than 10 minutes after coming in. I described my symptoms to him and he nailed it, gave me my IV and I was fine. Following day I came to see a specialist who didn't speak as much English, but communication was still good and he prescribed my treatment.

Naturally, if you are to look for the very best doctor in a specialty (in any country) odds are his English won't be the best (if he speaks another language at all). But for 99% of the cases you won't need that doctor (the 1% is the kind of stuff the writers of House get their ideas from).
Bottom line, if you need to go to a hospital, you're better off going to BJU. Even most foreigners who think they cannot afford insurance but they don't really know the options. Some international plans for hospitalisation only can be quite affordable. They'll still be much more expensive than Chinese insurance, but my company's view is that they are the minimum, and I agree with them.

Yes, I'm a broker does it mean I cannot participate in the debate? And what's wrong with getting some business out of it if my participation is actually meaningful instead of just saying "buy from me!"?

Asking how much a plan costs is exactly like asking how much a car or a computer costs.

Do you need a car that simply takes you from A to B? Or do you want a car with air conditioning, GPS, 4x4, cool design, killer wheels, etc.?

Do you want a computer to use Word, Excel, Power Point and access the internet? Or do you need one to process complex graphical designs or play the latest games? PC or Mac?

Health insurance is something extremely complex. Plans can cost US$ 800.00 to US$ 8,000.00 per year. Depending on age, they can be even higher.
A serious broker would never throw prices around without AT LEAST some basic information.

If you are looking for insurance, you can PM me. If not, we can continue the discussion, because I am also learning from what I am reading.

It is better for you to ask the person who know about the insurance in china. to help you about your problem. about that health insurance.
It is better for you to know it because maybe you may have problem when you will in some hospitals there in china.
Dentist San Jose
Cosmetic Dentist San Jose

@jonjon,

I understand you, man. I have many friends who hold the same view of insurers and brokers, some even said it to my face. Unsurprisingly, they're all American. They don't doubt my honesty, some have bombarded me with questions.

Honestly, I understand the bad image my current profession has, but the point is moot. Like it or not, everybody needs insurance and you can either try to figure everything by yourself or ask a professional who not only understands the contract better, but probably has a better view of how things work when the sh*t actually hits the fan. By the way, going through a broker doesn't cost you a single cent more.

So, please tell me, if it doesn't cost you anything, why NOT use a broker?

Well, their costs are higher too.

The average pay for foreigners is higher than for locals, we all know that. Foreign doctors command higher salaries too.

Same goes for Chinese doctors and Chinese staff that can speak good English. If the people don't really speak English, a translator is likely to be around.

On top of that, hygiene and service standards are higher too.

Actually, BJ Med Consultant has a point. There are so many companies and so many products out there that unless you really know what you are doing and have the many hours it takes to read all of the small print AND have the experience of dealing with the insurers, you really do need a broker.

At the end of the day it's up to you but a good and ethical broker really can and does help. Not all of them are untrained, unprofessional and don't care about you.

Thanx for the information

The Peking Union Medical College has a foreigners wing. Used to be part of Peking University med school I think.

My experience was great.

What I read said that most of the doctors are foreign trained and they all seem to speak good English. The staff was very helpful too.

Regular doctors are 100Y; professors 300Y. They solved my problem with meds, inc one Chinese traditional, for 80Y.

On another occasion a blood test was 240. Compared to Beijing United this seems expensive (was about 100 at BJ Un?), but BJ Union requires a 1000Y doc appointment to get the order for the test. At Peking the doc was 100, and he was willing to give me more than one order so I could get a repeat later.

RE costs vs Chinese: I see one of the best cardiologists in Asia for 10Y at a Chinese hospital. He speaks fluent English as does the pacemaker diagnostic staff. A complete diagnostic of my defibrillator was 25Y, 3 prescriptions that I take were 750 for 3 months. One of the meds was Western, or was it two.

He was recommended in the US before I came here, and his advice has been excellent. He has also trained in the US and done significant research beyond just treating patients.

The downside is that I am still trying to figure out if I can handle the Chinese hospital using almost entirely English and without my friend. I think that the answer will be yes.

PS am trying to learn Chinese, but not a good student. Still for the hospital, a few stock phrases for getting the appointment and for the waiting procedure would be enough.

yea try Thailand, they one remove the correct organs there.

It would be great if you have health insurance. I have a list of god hospitals in Beijing. By the way I have a site in Germany covers weight loss as well. The name is Gesund abnehmen. Thanks for sharing.
Regards,
gesund abnehmen