Average treatment costs for selected cancer types in Chinese public hospitals 2021

Despite being one of the leading challenges to the country's public healthcare system and a major cause of death among the Chinese people, the treatment of cancer in China remained relatively affordable. As of 2021, the average cost for treatments of lung cancer in China stood at around 39,500 yuan. The financial burdens from other types of cancers, such as cancers of the esophagus and bladder, were even lower.

The centralized drug procurement scheme

In recent years, China's healthcare system adopted a centralized procurement scheme for commonly used and generic medications. Under the scheme, healthcare providers invite tenders collectively and buy generic drugs in bulk from pharmaceutical companies. The unit price of drugs has thus dropped significantly, reducing the burden borne by the statutory medical insurance system and patients. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical manufacturers, such as Hengrui Pharmaceuticals have seen their profits from generic medicines fall dramatically. Nevertheless, companies have been increasingly pressured to participate in the centralized procurement scheme to maintain their market share.

China's Basic Medical Insurance System

Since the introduction of Basic Medical Insurance for Urban Employees in the 1990s, China gradually developed its statutory medical insurance system. In the last decade, a basic medical insurance system providing coverage for urban and rural residents has finally been completed. Although China's medical insurance system is subject to reimbursement ceilings with many expensive drugs or new procedures being only accessible to patients who pay out-of-pocket, thanks to the reasonably inexpensive premiums, the number of participants in the basic medical insurance programs exceeded 1.3 billion in 2021.