I would never defend SJL, but I’ve got to tell you, we got a half-hour exam/consult with both doctor and nurse, and three perscriptions for twenty-two dollars when we took my chinese daughter to the doctor for a nasty chest cold last year.
No, they don’t fix harelips or clubbed feet, but that office visit cost the same as my co-pay here at home.
Almost 300 million in China have no insurance. Funny how low the price of a doctor’s office visit will go when they know you don’t have any insurance.
What’s that three months pay for the regular Chinese citizen ;)
There is effectively nothing outside of the major cities. Moreover, the AVERAGE income in China is about $2k. What we think is inexpensive in China is very expensive for the Chinese. In addition, much of the care is “TCM” (traditional Chinese medicine), which on the whole is just quackery. BTW, I was in China 3 times last year. Fortunately, I didn’t need medical care.