Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
lege Hospital and China-Japan Friendship Hospital, will accept some insurers. Check their
websites or call ahead to find out which insurance companies are accepted.
Nothing happens at a Chinese hospital until you pay. This doesn't mean you have to try
to calculate the entire expense the moment you walk in the door; you typically pay step-by-
step as each requirement arises. The first thing you'll need to pay is your registration fee,
which will range from RMB5 to possibly RMB300 or more if you're seeing a specialist in
a VIP wing. After this, every time you need to be sent off for a certain test or treatment,
you'll first need to go to the cashier, pay for it, then head to the treatment area with receipt
in hand. If you've shopped in a Chinese department store where they send you over to a
cashier before they bag and hand over the shirt you've just selected, it's just the same.
As an example, imagine you suspect you've fractured your foot. First thing is to go to
the registration desk to
guàhào
and choose which kind of doctor you'll need to see. It's up to
you to self-diagnose and determine whether you need oncology, gynecology, or orthoped-
ics. If you don't know, take a guess, and if you're wrong the doctor that you do see should
hopefully refer you to the right one. Your registration fee covers your initial consultation
fee. So now you hobble off to the appropriate section of the hospital and show your ticket
at the relevant registration desk. Finally, the doctor will call your number. If he or she then
sends you off for an X-ray, you'll need to go to the cashier to pay, get your receipt, then
head off to have your scan. When this is done, you return to the doctor, scan in hand, and
given that you've already seen the doctor once, you take priority over the other people lin-
ing up to get in. The minute the door opens, make your charge. It's highly likely that other
people will still be lingering in the office when the doctor pulls out your X-ray and holds
it in the air to examine it. If you don't demand that the other people get out, they'll stay to
hear the diagnosis. Finally, let's say there's no fracture but your doctor prescribes you some
painkillers. Take the prescription to the cashier to pay for them, then take the receipt to the
pharmacy. At this point be prepared to wait for possibly an hour to collect your goods.
From your registration slip to the final prescription, make sure you hold on to every
piece of paper like your life depended on it. If you have a Chinese social security card some
of your costs will be reduced, either immediately or by a refund that will later be returned
to you via your company or bank. The amount of the reduction will depend on the grade
of the hospital, your job, and on the treatment. To encourage people away from the major
hospitals to the smaller ones, the social insurance card offers bigger discounts at the level
one and two hospitals. In some cases the insurance might be cover the entire amount, or
in others it will be a percentage. There are some treatments that are not covered at all; for
example, a specialty bed may not be, but a general ward bed should be.
