How international patients pay in China
Two routes, and what we found when we read every hospital's own page.
There are two ways to pay for treatment in China. You can pay the hospital yourself and claim the cost back from your insurer, or the hospital can settle with your insurer directly. Which one you get is not a choice you make: it is an arrangement between one hospital and one insurer, and it exists only where the two have signed one. Nothing on this site can tell you whether yours has — so we went and read the pages.
What we read
We read the international-department page of every hospital on this site that publishes one — 49 pages, read on Oct 24, 2026 — and recorded what each one says about insurance, prepayments and how to reach the unit. On 11 of those pages the hospital names the companies it works with; on 24 it says it bills insurers directly; and 2 could not be read at all.
208 company names in total across those pages, in 179 different spellings.
The hospitals that name the companies they work with
The names are the hospital's own, and the list is the hospital's own claim: we did not check any of these arrangements with the companies named. Four of the hospitals publish the list as a picture of logos rather than as text, so the names on those pages are the ones that could be read off the image.
| Hospital | The names they publish | What the page says | Page read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital | 友邦保险公司上海分公司, 万欣和企业服务有限公司, 太平洋健康保险股份有限公司, 平安健康保险股份有限公司, 招商信诺健康管理有限责任公司, 泰康人寿保险公司, 中意人寿保险有限公司, 京东安联财产保险有限公司, 中间带（北京）技术服务有限公司, 北京外企人力资源服务有限公司, 上海棪初企业服务有限公司（乐安保险）, 上海新玟健康科技有限公司（柏盛健康）, 稻甜企业服务有限公司, 上海风时健康技术有限公司, 上海臻蓝健康科技有限公司（镁信保险）, 上海商保通健康科技有限公司, 致保科技有限公司 | Says it bills insurers directly | Oct 24, 2026 |
| China-Japan Friendship Hospital | MSH(万欣和), 平安健康, CIGNA(招商信诺), BUPA(保柏), 中间带, 安态, 欧乐, 工银安盛, SOS, FESCO(外企人力资源), 安盛, 安援, 中意人寿, 泰康健康, 威马捷, 力众华援, 华泰, 商保通, 太保安联, 普莱斯梯基 | Says it bills insurers directly | Oct 24, 2026 |
| The University of Hong Kong–Shenzhen Hospital | 香港AIA, 安盛AXA, 万欣和（上海）企业服务有限公司, 招商信诺健康管理有限责任公司, 平安健康保险股份有限公司, 中意人寿保险有限公司, 友邦人寿保险有限公司, 太平洋健康保险股份有限公司, 中间带（北京）技术服务有限公司, 稻甜企业服务有限公司, 上海新玟健康科技有限公司, 上海风时健康管理咨询有限公司, 复星联合健康保险股份有限公司, 安联世合国际救援服务（北京）有限公司, 工银安盛人寿保险有限公司, 北京盛诺一家医院管理咨询有限公司, 安顾健康管理服务（北京）有限公司, 北京威马捷国际旅行援助有限责任公司, 上海威尔比保险经纪有限公司, 泰康人寿保险有限责任公司, 思奥思国际旅行援助服务（北京）有限公司, 安盛旅行援助服务(北京)有限公司, 友邦保险（国际）有限公司, 康瑞安援救援服务（北京）有限公司, 华泰保险经纪有限公司广东分公司, 上海商保通健康科技有限公司, 致保科技有限公司, 睿达（广州）医疗门诊部有限公司, 京东安联财产保险有限公司, 前海互康医疗咨询（深圳）有限公司海南分公司 | Says it bills insurers directly | Oct 24, 2026 |
| Peking Union Medical College Hospital | 万欣和MSH (MSH CHINA), 平安健康 (中国平安 PING AN), 招商信诺 (Cigna & CMB), 太平洋健康 (太平洋保险 CPIC), 中意人寿 (GENERALI CHINA), 友邦人寿 (AIA 友邦保险), 中间带 (MediLink-Global), 柏盛健康 (prosper), 风石健康 (WINDSTONE), 致保健康Zhibao health (Zhibao Health), 复星联合 (FOSUN HEALTH 复星联合健康保险), 安联世合 (Allianz 安联世合), 扶桑 (BEIJING FUSANG 北京扶桑管理咨询有限责任公司), 北京外企人力资源服务有限公司 (FESCO), 威尔比 (WellBe), 华泰 (华泰保险经纪有限公司 HUATAI INSURANCE AGENCY & CONSULTANT SERVICE LTD), 商保通 (China Health Connect), 威马捷 (Emergency Assistance Japan), 安顾援助 (ERGO Assistance), 国际SOS (INTERNATIONAL SOS), 泰康人寿 (Taikang Life), 卫健委紧急救援中心, 上海休荪HSC (HSC), 稻甜健康 (DTHealth), 工银安盛 (工银安盛人寿 ICBC-AXA LIFE), 京东安联 | Says it bills insurers directly | Oct 24, 2026 |
| Peking University People's Hospital | 中国平安 PING AN, 泰康养老 TAIKANG PENSION, AIA 友邦保险, WINDSTONE 风石健康, 商保通 China Health Connect, 国际SOS, 招商信诺 Cigna & CMB, 太平洋保险 CPIC, 中意人寿 GENERALI CHINA, MediLink-Global Healthcare Solutions, MSH CHINA, 致保科技, MediTrust 镁信健康 Health | Says it bills insurers directly | Oct 24, 2026 |
| Peking University Shenzhen Hospital | WellBe Medical communications & services, SSC MEDICAL SUPPORT SERVICE, MSH CHINA Health Insurance Services & Solutions, Allianz Partners, Cigna., DTHealth, MediLink-Global Electronic Healthcard Network, GBG Insurance Without Borders™, AIA 友邦保险, blue pass, Le An, EURO-CENTER | ERGO 安顾欧乐旅行援助, WINDSTONE 风石健康, 柏盛健康 prosper, FOSUN HEALTH 复星联合健康保险, 华泰保险 Huatai Insurance Group, CHC 商保通 让保险更温暖, 中国平安 PING AN, 中意人寿 GENERALI CHINA, 太平洋保险 CPIC, 泰康人寿 Taikang Life, 泰康养老 Taikang Pension | Says it bills insurers directly | Oct 24, 2026 |
| Shandong Provincial Hospital | 招商信诺, 万欣和（ MSH）, 友邦人寿保险, 平安保险, 泰康保险, 中间带, 太平洋保险, 中意人寿, 元化医疗, 上海镁信, 商保通, 安顾援助 | Says it bills insurers directly | Oct 24, 2026 |
| Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital | WINDSTONE, Zhibao Health, Shanghai Cseth Insurance Services Co., Ltd, Taikang Life, GENERALI China Insurance Co., Ltd, AIA, CHINA RE, prosper, Ping An Health Insurance Company Ltd, HealtHub, Global Doctors, Medilink-Global Electronic Healthcard Network(Shanghai) Co. Ltd, WellBe Medical Service Co. Ltd, PICC, CPlC Allianz Health Insurance Co., Ltd., Taikang Pension, ICBC-AXA Assurance Co., Ltd, Cigna International Corporation Company, EC ERGO, DTHealth, MSH (Shanghai Wanxinhe business managementCo. Ltd), International SoS Service Co. Ltd, FOSUN HEALTH, Huamei Haolian Medical Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., Meditrust Health, BUPA Consultant SERVICES Company Ltd, Allianz Worldwide Care insurance company, Europ Travel Assistance（Beijing）Co., Ltd, LE'AN | Says it bills insurers directly | Oct 24, 2026 |
| Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital | 万欣和MSH, 中国平安（平安健康）, 招商信诺, 泰康人寿 | Says it bills insurers directly | Oct 24, 2026 |
| The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine | Allianz 安联世合, Allianz JD, bluepass, 商保通, 招商信诺, 太平洋保险 CPIC, DTHealth, EURO-CENTER ERGO, EURO-CENTER, Emergency Assistance Japan, eHealthNow 华夏慧联, FOSUN HEALTH 复星健康保险, 中意人寿 GENERALI CHINA, GLOBAL DOCTORS, HSC, 华泰保险 Huatai Insurance, ICBC 工银安盛人寿 ICBC-AXA LIFE, AXA, INTERNATIONAL SOS, ins health 英仕健康, MediLink-Global Electronic Healthcare Network, MSH CHINA, PICC 中国人民保险, 平安健康 PING AN HEALTH, 柏盛健康 prosper, 盛诺一家, SSC 上海…医疗管理有限公司 / Shanghai … Medical Service Co., Ltd, 泰康人寿 Taikang Life, WellBe, VERTEXONE, 致富科技 Zhibao Tech | Says it bills insurers directly | Oct 24, 2026 |
| Women's Hospital School Of Medicine Zhejiang University | 中国平安, 招商信诺, 泰康人寿, 柏盛健康 | Says it bills insurers directly | Oct 24, 2026 |
The companies, in one list
The hospitals name the same companies 179 different ways — the same company appears under several names, sometimes with an English name and sometimes without. This is the same set of companies in one list, with the English name each one publishes, the kind of company it is, and the count of pages that name it.
9 of the 53 companies here are not insurers: a medical-assistance company settles on an insurer's behalf, a clinic provides the care, a health-management provider arranges it, a referral consultancy sends patients abroad, an insurance-technology firm builds and runs the product, and one is a public body. So the kind of company is given beside each name, and a reader whose own insurer is on the list can tell which entries are the insurers.
The hospitals that say they bill directly, without naming anyone
These pages say the unit settles with commercial insurers directly and do not say which. That is a weaker claim than a list, and it is a claim a reader can check in one question to the hospital.
- Beijing Jishuitan Hospital
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University
- Foshan First People's Hospital
- Huashan Hospital
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University
- Peking University Third Hospital
- Renji Hospital
- The Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University
- Shenzhen People's Hospital
- Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
- Union Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
- West China Hospital, Sichuan University
The deposit
A prepayment standard appears on 1 of the 49 pages we read, and the other hospitals publish none. Most Chinese hospitals ask for money up front — a deposit held against your account and settled when you leave — but the amount is set by the hospital, for that admission, and it is not a published price, so this site does not print one: any figure here would be a guess, and the guess would be wrong for most readers. Ask for the amount in writing before you travel, and ask what happens to it if your treatment ends early.
The one standard we found is 甘肃省人民医院's: the hospital's own 住院预交金收取标准公示 (notice of the inpatient prepayment standard) says that self-paying patients (自费) are charged in full in instalments, that urban employee insurance patients (城镇职工医保) pay 2,000 yuan, and that urban and rural resident insurance patients (城乡居民医保) pay 4,000 yuan.
The pages we could not read
2 of the 49 pages could not be read from here: Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Zhongshan Hospital (Shanghai). A hospital we could not read is a hospital we know nothing about, and it is not a hospital without an international department.
What to do with this
If your insurer is named on this page, that hospital's own page says the hospital will settle with them, and you can check it before you travel. If it is not, the arrangement is still possible and nobody has published it — so ask the hospital's international department, in writing, before you book, and treat the answer as the fact and this page as the reason you asked.