Hundreds of millions of people in China have lost access to free health care since the country’s economic reforms in the late 1970s. Today, the cost of a doctor’s consultation is still very low, at least for those who have so-called “blue” Social Security cards. With these cards, a visit to a general practitioner costs as little as 2 yuan (0.3 euros), and an emergency call or a night in the hospital costs about 100 yuan (almost 13.5 euros). On the other hand, high drug prices and the hefty cost of long-term treatment are beyond the reach of many typical Chinese families.

Officials say they hope to remedy the health care situation by 2020: At the moment, 95 percent of the population has health insurance of various kinds, but in practice very often cannot cover their bills on top of it when needed. Sometimes Chinese doctors, who are paid low wages, sign contracts with pharmaceutical companies in search of extra income and prescribe unnecessary drugs to patients. As a result, a single visit to a specialist can turn into a bill of tens of euros. Dissatisfaction with this policy of doctors has recently turned the medical profession in China into a rather dangerous one, with harassment, physical attacks, and public accusations.

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