English
Jun
22
Cost of Medical Treatment in China heading skyward
Posted on Jun 22, 2010 by Sergio Ulloa (G+)
The cost of receiving medical treatment in China's upscale private healthcare facilities in Shanghai and Beijing is on an astronomic rise, only this time the regular suspects of medical inflation, old age and larger numbers of lifestyle illnesses may not be to blame. It seems that the limited number of high-end medical facilities has given them a corner on the market, which they have fully taken advantage of, with one hospital group even going so far as to send a memo to doctors to remind them to charge for removing stitches (sutures in medical terminology). The limited number of competitors reduces insurers' ability to negotiate prices for various treatments with healthcare providers. The Medical Director from the international insurance company Bupa, Dr. Sneh Khemka, says that "Globally, medical costs are rising by around ten to eleven per cent each year, at its worst, in China the inflation rate is 3,000 per cent. It is our view that the drivers of these higher costs are commercial, rather than medical. There is practically a monopoly in Shanghai and Beijing and the clinics charge what they like." This would mean that Bupa customers' premiums are rising by 200 to 300% per year in order to keep up with the inflated costs of treatment. The major players providing high-end medical insurance targeted at foreigners and VIP mainland clients are Parkway which runs the Gleneagles hospital in Shanghai; United Family Healthcare which has hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Wuxi; as well as International SOS which runs clinics, operational assistance offices and also keeps an air ambulance on hand for medical evacuations. Healthcare providers justify the costs by the nature of their business, saying that providing VIP-level facilities and attracting highly-trained doctors with the ability to speak multiple languages from their careers in their home countries is challenging and expensive. Healthcare providers have also argued that prices are still below the cost of treatment in the U.S. healthcare system, most of the time. The question becomes whether the continuing development of Chinese public hospitals and clinics - some of which have English-speaking doctors and even special wings for foreigners, such as Peking Union Medical College in Beijing and Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai - will reach a point where they begin competing with the entrenched international and VIP healthcare providers. Insurance Companies and Healthcare Companies Mentioned: Bupa
Bupa is an international health insurance company that provides health insurance for individuals and companies all over the world. Bupa has offices on three continents and over 7 million customers' world wide. As a provident association Bupa has no shareholders, because of this it uses its profits to invest in healthcare and medical facilities around the world.
International SOS
International SOS is a healthcare services provider offering logistical assistance, alarm center services, preventative advice and emergency assistance including evacuation and repatriation. Originally founded in 1985 as AEA International, the company purchased International SOS in 1998 and renamed the company International SOS. The company now has more than 6000 employees working across 70 countries working in concert with non-government organizations, business and governments around the world.
Parkway
First listed on the Singaporean stock exchange in 1975, Parkway Holdings has become one of the top-quality integrated healthcare providers in Asia in the intervening years. Parkway now operates 16 hospitals in Asia, with over 3,400 beds throughout Singapore, China, Malaysia, India, Brunei, and the UAE. Parkway also boasts a nursing and health science college, extensive diagnostic, imaging and laboratory resources and the largest foreign owned medical network in Shanghai.
United Family Healthcare
United Family Healthcare is the product of Chindex (previously the U.S.-China Industrial Exchange), which was started in the early 1980s to sell technological equipment in China. In 1993 Chindex started to focus entirely on medical equipment which gave them the knowledge and connections to start United Family Healthcare's first hospital in 1997 as a joint venture between Chindex and the China Academy of Medical Sciences, called Beijing United Family Hospital and Clinics (BJU). Since then United Family Healthcare has expanded, adding two additional satellite clinics in Beijing as well as 3 more hospitals in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Wuxi.