Caesarean section in China: the published price
Two lines: the lower-segment caesarean that is done almost everywhere, and the classical incision, which is used in a few cases where the lower segment is not safe. The difference in the published price is small, and the difference in the recovery is not. The anaesthetic, the consumables and the theatre are not in either line.
The published price lines
Every line Beijing's schedule publishes for this procedure, with the project code the hospital bills against and the date the schedule took effect. One row per line, not one total.
| Item | Published price |
|---|---|
Caesarean section, lower-segment Project code: HUE52303 · Schedule name: 子宫下段剖宫产术 Procedure line · Standard public ward Procedure line only. Implants, consumables, imaging guidance and the operating theatre are billed on top. Standard public ward, not an international-department price. | $141per operation¥948 |
Caesarean section, classical Project code: HUE52302 · Schedule name: 古典式剖宫产术 Procedure line · Standard public ward Procedure line only. Implants, consumables, imaging guidance and the operating theatre are billed on top. Standard public ward, not an international-department price. | $151per operation¥1,015 |
Source: Jun 15, 2019
Chinese hospitals publish prices in CNY; the CNY figures are converted for readability using an indicative rate and are not a quoted price. International-department services are priced by each hospital and are typically well above these statutory rates. Always obtain a written quote before travelling.
What this price is
A line in Beijing's published medical service price schedule: the rate a hospital in that city bills against for the procedure itself, for a patient on the standard public ward. It is not a quote, not an estimate and not a total. An international department sets its own prices, and a patient who is not on the Chinese insurance system is usually charged under that department's list — which is higher, sometimes considerably higher.
What the line does not cover
A published surgical price is the procedure line, never the invoice. The schedule says which items each line excludes, and the row above prints that list. Sutures, haemostatic materials, drains, the laparoscope and its consumables, staplers, clips, energy devices, anti-adhesion film, glue, the implant or mesh, the fixation device, imaging guidance in theatre and the clean operating theatre itself are billed on top. So are the ward, the medicines and the investigations before and after. The figure in the table is the part that is published; the invoice is not.
What the stay costs on top
A bed is a bed, wherever you are admitted, so the published ward rates apply to every one of these procedures. They are per day, and they are the clearest published account of what actually drives cost in a Chinese hospital: ward class, not privacy.
- / dayGeneral ward bed¥50
- / dayThree-bed room¥60
- / dayIntensive care unit bed¥60
- / daySingle room¥80
- / dayISO-7 cleanroom bed¥300
- / daySpecial protective ward bed¥1,100
Published daily rates. The spread across room types is small — a single room costs ¥30 more than a shared one — while the spread across ward classes is 22 times. The multiplier in a Chinese hospital is ward class, not privacy.
Ward rates (per day)
Where to have it
The hospitals we list that carry this specialty, with the reputation positions we can attribute to a source. A published schedule line tells you what the procedure costs in a Chinese city. It does not tell you which hospital to go to, and it is not a quality ranking.
Obstetrics & Gynaecology
| #1in Obstetrics & Gynaecology 2023 · Fudan SRCAIH | Peking Union Medical College Hospital中国医学科学院北京协和医院 · Beijing |
| #2in Obstetrics & Gynaecology 2023 · Fudan SRCAIH | Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology华中科技大学同济医学院附属同济医院 · Wuhan |
| #4in Obstetrics & Gynaecology 2023 · Fudan SRCAIH | Peking University Third Hospital北京大学第三医院 · Beijing |
| #5in Obstetrics & Gynaecology 2023 · Fudan SRCAIH | Women's Hospital School Of Medicine Zhejiang University浙江大学医学院附属妇产科医院 · Hangzhou |
| #7in Obstetrics & Gynaecology 2023 · Fudan SRCAIH | Peking University People's Hospital北京大学人民医院 · Beijing |
| #9in Obstetrics & Gynaecology 2023 · Fudan SRCAIH | The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University中山大学附属第一医院 · Guangzhou |
| #10in Obstetrics & Gynaecology 2023 · Fudan SRCAIH | Renji Hospital上海交通大学医学院附属仁济医院 · Shanghai |
Other procedures with published prices
The rest of the schedule we have read, grouped by the operation a patient would name.
- Total knee replacement (TKA)
- Total hip replacement (THA)
- Knee ligament and meniscus surgery
- Shoulder surgery: rotator cuff repair
- Spinal surgery: discectomy and fusion
- Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG)
- Aortic valve replacement
- Mitral valve replacement
- Aortic root replacement
- Heart transplant
- Pacemaker implantation
- Congenital heart defect repair
- Coronary angioplasty and stent
- Liver transplant and resection
- Kidney transplant
- Hernia repair
- Gallbladder removal (cholecystectomy)
- Colorectal cancer surgery
- Gastrectomy (partial stomach removal)
- Hysterectomy
- Breast cancer surgery
- Cataract surgery with a lens implant
- Corneal transplant and other eye surgery
- Brain surgery: aneurysm and meningioma
- Kidney and bladder surgery
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm repair
- Carotid endarterectomy
- Lung surgery: lobectomy and chest mass
- Ear, nose and throat surgery
- Anaesthesia
- Haemorrhoid surgery