Caixin: US Hospitals See Opportunities in China

China’s growing middle class increasingly seeks state-of-the-art medical treatment, with about 500,000 Chinese traveled overseas for medical treatment in 2016. Japan, South Korea and the United States were the leading destinations, but more foreign hospitals are headed to China. “Two American hospitals have become the latest addition to a growing list of about 100 foreign clinics that have partnered with local health service providers in recent years,” reports Coco Feng for Caixin. Massachusetts General Hospital will open a cancer hospital with Jiahui Health Network in Shanghai in October, and Children's Specialized Hospital in New Jersey will open a rehabilitation center in Shenzhen. The joint ventures assist with paperwork, regulations, insurance and other obstacles to the Chinese market. Feng expects the trend of joint partnerships for health care to accelerate “because China health expenditure accounted for only 5.5% of total gross domestic product (GDP) in 2014, far behind the world’s average of 9.9%, according to the World Bank.” – YaleGlobal