Video shows an American woman’s hospital visit costing just $12 in China, and it appears to have sparked a debate over healthcare costs and wait times

An American woman shared her experience in a Chinese hospital. As reported by the Daily Dot, this woman showed the convenience and affordability of Chinese public hospitals in a video. Apparently, the whole visit cost her about $12, which seems lower than health expenses in the US.

The clip, which is over 3 minutes long, was reposted on Twitter/X by @dominictsz, showing this woman recording herself in a hospital. She starts with, “I’m an American in China right now, and I’m at the hospital because I need to get some medicine.” The woman then shows a counter where a patient needs to get a number by showing their passport; she claims, “It doesn’t matter if you are living in here or what kind of visa you are on; anybody can go to the Chinese public hospital.”

The woman then starts talking to someone at the counter in Chinese, then appears to switch to English to say, “So, it’s about $7 to see the doctor.” After that, she can be seen scanning the QR code and paying the amount. Later in the video, she puts what appears to be a receipt into a machine, which apparently sets her up for the doctor’s visit. Following this, the woman can be heard claiming that her turn to see the doctor came within a minute.

The hospital tour continues…

The International Citizens Insurance claims health care costs in the US are the most expensive. According to them, if a patient decides to go to an urgent care clinic instead of the ER, it might still cost them between $80 and $800, depending on treatment, tests, and medications.

Coming back to the clip, it then cuts to the part where she says, “It’s 2:31, and I have already seen the doctor and gotten my prescription,” and at the start of the video, the woman claimed the time was 2:17 PM. It appears that the hospital tour didn’t just end there, as the next stop she mentioned was the pharmacy, which, according to her, was “inside of this same hospital.” It looks like the prescription cost her around $5, which she paid, and then she can be seen putting the receipt into a similar machine to the one she used before.

At around 2:36 PM, the woman gets her medicine, as shown in the video. After that, she says she is free to walk away and appears to give her viewers details on how much time and money the entire experience took. The woman claimed that she spent around 19 minutes and $12 in total (without insurance). Her reposted clip gained considerable audience, garnering over 100,000 views, with several people sharing their opinions.

A user seemingly shared their personal experience: “I live in China and can 100% confirm that this is true. I and my wife needed to see a specialist. I didn’t have a registration for that hospital, it took less than 10min to register, maybe an hour to see the specialist, and another 15min to pay and get the prescriptions.”

On the other hand, someone claimed, “One thing I don’t like about hospitals here is that someone is always coming into the room while she’s talking to a doctor to get her test results reviewed. Also, the doctors are very impersonal because they meet 100 patients a day. It’s a very “you get what you paid for” experience.” The same user also added, “Though they also don’t talk about private hospitals that are very much like American ones and have facilities just like those in the United States. Those are more expensive, and I’ve had a friend have surgeries there. Don’t even ask me about my surgeries.”

It appears that the audience was divided on the matter. The woman’s claims were not independently verified.