China Syndrome: Rich Flee Mainland for Medical Care Abroad

Coming for radiation treatment in the US?

Coming for radiation treatment in the US?

I feel bad for the patients profiled in Desperate Chinese Seek Medical Care Abroad in the Wall Street Journal. I’ll note upfront that I’m no expert in the Chinese system. But from what I’ve read here and elsewhere it’s not uncommon for hospitals and physicians to push profitable, expensive services and products that are not in the patients’ best interests.

As a result, those with means are looking abroad for relief. Some are winging it to the US, and the article paints a flattering –albeit anecdotal portrait– of better diagnoses and effective treatments here.

In the comments section, several readers assert that the article provides proof about how great the US healthcare system is. That’s not the conclusion I draw.

The article mentions one patient who paid $70,000 out of pocket to UCSF, and another at MGH who’s out $270,000 so far after using up her savings, selling her apartment and borrowing money.

I’ll assume that the patients are getting first rate care, but I’ll also assume that they are being billed “charges,” the ridiculously high rack rates that are used to set fees for those who lack the protection of a big insurance company. Are patients really being treated better financially than in China? I doubt it.

And it’s not as though US providers always have their patients’ best interests in mind when recommending treatments. It might not be as overt or widespread as in China, but it’s still a problem.

On a separate point, the article mentions Chinese coming to the US to give birth, lumping that phenomenon into the same category as cancer patients. That’s a totally different situation. The typical reason for giving birth in the US is to gain US citizenship for the child.

photo credit: Profound Whatever via photopin cc