[The Epoch Times, January 10, 2023](The Epoch Times reporter Wang Xiang compiles and reports) The Financial Times reported on Tuesday (January 10) that after the Chinese Communist Party policy canceled free treatment, the narrowing of the Covid-19 epidemic Standards put claimants in a bind.
State-Sponsored Health in Chinainsurance planOpting to reduce or forego insurance coverage in response to the wave of Covid infections sweeping the country has left a growing number of Chinese patients infected with the virusMedical feesStruggling with use.
At least 14 Chinese cities and provinces have stopped offering free treatment for the Covid-19 virus after Beijing abruptly rolled back its zero-clearing strategy last month, according to local government announcements.
Hospitals in Shanghai and Guangzhou are charging severely Covid patients up to 20,000 yuan a day for intensive care, about five months’ income for an average city resident, fueling fears of onerous medical debt and the risk of infection.
Insurers, which previously sold tens of millions of low-priced Covid-19 plans, have been reluctant to approve Covid-related claims as they try to avoid huge payout liabilities in an “exit wave” of zeroed-out policies.
Additionally, China’s health policies have made it difficult for claimants to obtain proof of Covid infection. Health officials narrow the definition of Covid deaths and confirmed cases. The World Health Organization criticized that the CCP’s move would cause an underestimation of the severity of the epidemic.
An employee at Beijing Taikang Insurance, who has received dozens of complaints, said the company was “very strict” about approving claims.
“You have to get a certificate of illness from the hospital, which is rarely issued by the hospital,” he said.
Analysts believe this has put considerable pressure on low-income patients, while also exposing inequalities in China’s healthcare system.
Huang Yanzhong, a research fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, a US think tank, told the Financial Times: “China has never transformed the medical system into one where everyone can afford medical care and go to hospitals. The recent Covid outbreak has made this problem worse.”
Beijing had touted free Covid treatment for residents as a symbol of its success in the fight against the pandemic, but it quickly reversed course in the last month.
Anhui, an eastern province of 64 million people, last week began asking residents to pay a 30% fee for outpatient visits related to the pandemic. The city of Sanhe near Beijing went further, announcing last month that Covid patients would have to pay up to half of their hospital bills.
This places a huge financial burden on many patients. Gao Shengli, a 53-year-old farmer in central Henan province, suffered a stroke last week after testing positive for Covid. He was taken to a local hospital for two days before being billed 150,000 yuan, more than double his family’s annual income.
With new bills ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 yuan a day, his family has been driven to despair.
The urban middle class isn’t faring much better either, as sick people must be able to claim a Covid insurance claim. Multiple hospitals refused to issue infection certificates to patients who tested positive unless they also reported lung infections and were approved by local health authorities.
A doctor at Shanghai Tenth Hospital said the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission had instructed medical staff to limit the number of people diagnosed with Covid. “We are advised to label most cases as respiratory infections,” the doctor said.
“The outbreak happened so quickly that the authorities didn’t have time to come up with an action plan,” said an adviser to China’s National Health Commission in Beijing.
“To be sure, the government doesn’t have the capacity to treat everyone for free,” he added.
In the eastern city of Hangzhou, Covid-19 was bought early last yearinsurance planFrank Wang, a marketing manager in Beijing, developed lung and kidney infections after testing positive for the virus, but doctors refused to issue him a certificate of illness.
“The hospital has made it clear that Covid certificates are not easy to obtain because the diagnosis of the disease has been politicized,” Wang said.
He had to pay more than 20,000 yuan for treatment for Covid. “It makes patients like me victims,” he said.
Editor in charge: Ye Ziwei