A U.S. vlogger recently shared her insights on the American medical system, as well as her discoveries about China's healthcare system, which she gained through her interactions on the Chinese social media platform, RedNote.
Through RedNote, Chinese and American netizens engaged in unbiased discussions about life, welfare, education, and healthcare, revealing similarities and differences between the two countries and fostering a deeper understanding of each other's societies.
In her video, American vlogger Heather expressed her astonishment at discovering China's medical policies, which prompted her to delve deeper into the subject. She emphasized that a notable aspect of China's system is that the government bears the burden of medical expenses, rather than placing it on individual citizens.
Heather shared a personal experience that sparked her interest in comparing medical systems, in which she revealed a staggering hospital bill of 41, 000 US dollars that she once received after a 5-day stay without insurance. This prompted a private message from a Chinese netizen, who was curious about the astronomical cost and thought she was joking. This conversation marked the beginning of her exploration into the differences between the U.S. and Chinese medical systems.
"Somebody turned around and posted a photo of their bill for a nuclear magnetic resonance imaging. Here I had a friend pay 15,000 U.S. dollars out of pocket for that. Sitting there - 'Is the hospital made of gold or silver?' It is my favorite comment personally. 'I feel powerless after reading your experiences. Nothing like that is here in China. It's hard to believe that an MRI scan here only costs a little over 500 yuan (over 68 U.S. dollars) with an individual only needing to pay 54 yuan (about 7 U.S. dollars).' An ambulance will cost less than 10 U.S. dollars and they consider that expensive. Well, an ambulance here is at minimum 800 U.S. dollars. Their government pays for these kinds of medical things. They don't put the weight of those bills on their citizens. It's something I wish we had honestly. Whereas everything here is for-profit, even the nonprofit hospitals are for-profit. That bill I posted was for a non-profit hospital," she said.
Through her interactions, Heather discovered that many American netizens were surprised to learn that China's reality differs from the negative portrayal often presented in Western media.
"Everything I've been told my entire life has just been propaganda and horrible about China. Learning how much they actually value their education and that's why they push their children for better education because that is a forefront of their societal expectations - is good education. It's so mindblowingly polar opposite to here, where we gate-keep education behind high funds. I would much prefer health care that's affordable for all, food available for everybody, homes available for everybody, homes being at an affordable rate," she said.
American vlogger uncovers surprising truths about China's medical system
