They scan the board of available specialists, selecting one based on their best self-diagnosis. It’s the second, and there are more to come. Once in the hospital, patients will stand in another line.
Some that wouldn’t wait, or couldn’t afford the scalpers’ tickets, try to cut in line and are thrown out by security guards. Scalpers are making a last effort to sell off doctors appointments they secured in advance. Back at the Shanghai hospital, it’s opening time. Roughly translated, it’s medical disturbance. Violence in hospitals has become so common in China, there’s a word for it - yi nao. And with the state insurance system not meeting the rising costs of treatments and drugs, medical disputes often play out in public on the hospital floor. With more and more patients and underpaid doctors, violence has become commonplace in hospitals across China. Numbers like these have added up to a culture of conflict. While rich Chinese will pay for individual care or leave the country altogether for it, the rest of the population, those dependent on health insurance, end up paying roughly 30 percent of their health care costs. said they see fewer than 30 patients a day. Specialists said they see up to 200, each just for minutes at a time. General practitioners we talked to in China typically see 70 to 80 patients per day. To put this number in perspective, the World Health Organization’s international standard is one doctor for every 1,500 to 2,000 people.
There are nearly 7,000 people per general practitioner in China.
The line has tripled in size, and then the news hits. By 7 a.m., it’s one hour before opening time. So if you get cancer and live in an area without an oncologist, you could be in trouble. Everything from the schools your kids can go to, to what your health insurance will cover is determined the moment you are born. Your Hukou is defined by your birthplace, and you’re only entitled to social services within that region. Despite its rapid modernization, China still uses what is known as the Hukou system. But leaving your home in the countryside could have a profound impact on what type of care you can get in the city. Corruption is inherently part of the system. The chance of seeing a doctor here is directly related to how big your wallet is. China’s line scalpers symbolize a greater dysfunction. Those who were willing to lose a night’s sleep trying to get a spot in line now have one question in their mind: “Will I be able to see a doctor today?” The scalpers are out, and they’re selling spots in line. It’s the entrance to the Shanghai Cancer Center at Fudan University. This isn’t the line to the movies or a holiday sale. It’s 5 a.m., and about 100 people have gathered in a line in downtown Shanghai. Here’s what that looks like today for ordinary Chinese. A culture of mistrust and inequality now plagued the system. And with limited accountability, they were widely accused of predatory behavior. But the introduction of capitalism and the retreat of the state meant that health care was no longer free. Decades later, China adopted a unique brand of capitalism that transformed the country from a poor farming nation into an economic superpower.
Under Mao Zedong, the Communist state provided free health care for all. To understand this crisis, we need to rewind a bit. So why is he making drugs on the floor of his apartment when his mother has insurance? It’s a symptom of a health care system in crisis. Nearly 95 percent of people are insured here, including Zhejun’s mother. The Communist Party of China says it provides close to universal health care coverage. But he can still order the raw ingredients for drugs like this online at a fraction of their official prices. It hasn’t been approved by Chinese or American regulators, and it doesn’t have a commercial name yet. Zhejun earns $300 a month, but the medicine needed to treat his sick mother costs $2,000. Transcript Inside China’s Predatory Health Care System Homemade cancer drugs, violence in hospitals, doctor shortages: We take you inside China’s broken health care system to reveal how dire the situation is for over a billion people.