Not All is Well in China — Access to Health Care
November 12th, 2006
Lots happening in China. Some good. Some bad.
Re: the latter, check out this article in the Wall Street Journal from a few months back (”Health Crisis: Chinese Doctors Tell Patients To Pay Upfront, or No Treatment“) [subscription may be required], and these related articles from this past week’s New York Times (”Boy’s Death at China Hospital Spurs Riot Over Care and Fees” and “China’s Muslims Awake to Nexus of Needles and Aids“) [ditto]. These articles shook me up about as much as anything I have read about China over the years (I suspect it’s largely because I now have children of my own).
The health care issue is a time bomb for China. The government has to get its hands around this issue, and sooner rather than later, or I would imagine that the social unrest in China, once and if it breaks, could be huge.
On a different note, rather than an “ah shucks, that sure is messed up and I feel bad for them” gut reaction, what opportunities do you see as MBA students trained in business, for health care consultants and providers in the US, including insurance companies, with respect to China as a possible market for their products and services? It seems to me that there are opportunities, indeed, here for such players from the West to come in and collaboratively work with the Chinese to address this mess and make a positive difference for the average Chinese citizen. What openings do you see in this regard?
Update (January 4, 2007): For a recent Wall Street Journal article that shows some hope and progress on this issue, see Hospital Caters to China’s Wealthy and Poor.
Entry Filed under: Pre-Departure, Beijing, China, Misc., Post Trip Wrap-Up re: China
1 Comment Add your own
1. Bonnie Morse | November 15th, 2006 at 1:02 pm
I think there are significant opportunities for companies to develop affordable insurance plans. For instance, the “Health Crisis” Wall Street Journal article mentioned that the Chinese save 40% of their earnings. A portion of this savings could be applied to insurance plans that compensate patients for emergency medical services. Furthermore, creating an established insurance program would reduce the need for hospitals to make a profit on each patient. Instead of writing unnecessary prescriptions to secure funding, hospitals could rely on reimbursement from insurance companies. This would reduce a doctor’s need to force payment from patients instead of simply providing medical care.
Ultimately, any opportunity to change the health care system must be supported by the Chinese government. An MBA student could prove that providing affordable insurance actually helps the Chinese economy. For instance, increased medical coverage would mean a healthier and more productive work force. There is an opening for insurance companies to work with the government and provide medical coverage at a reasonable cost.
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