Patients Pack Their Bags as Healthcare Costs Soar... Americans Emerge as Major Players in China's Medical Tourism

CNN: "Surging Numbers of Americans Head to Asia Amid Soaring Healthcare Costs"

1.28 Million Foreigners Visited Chinese Hospitals... Up 73%

"One in Four Inquiries Is Now About China"

There have been reports that an increasing number of Americans are traveling to Asia, including China, for "medical tourism" because they cannot afford the high cost of healthcare in the United States.

A local citizen at Palm Beach International Airport in the United States, unrelated to the specific content of the article. Photo by Reuters and Yonhap News.

On July 8 (local time), CNN reported, "Even as tensions between the United States and China intensify, China stands out the most among Asian countries in the growth of medical tourism." North American patients, who once mostly sought treatment in nearby Latin American countries such as Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia, are now turning their attention to Asia as waiting times and costs have risen. The biggest advantage is price. The CAR-T cell therapy, an immunotherapy used for blood cancer, costs over $500,000 (about 750 million won) in Europe, but can be received in China for around $60,000 (about 90 million won).

Isaias, a 26-year-old man living in Atlanta, USA, told CNN that he traveled to Shenzhen, Guangdong Province this past March to have a benign tumor removed from his gallbladder. The surgery would have cost $10,000 (about 15 million won) in the United States, but in Shenzhen, it was less than $2,000 (about 3 million won).

With price competitiveness, relaxed visa regulations, and a high standard of healthcare, China is outpacing other emerging medical tourism destinations. Last year, the number of foreign patients visiting Chinese hospitals reached 1.28 million, a 73% increase compared to 2022. According to the Medical Tourism Association, the global medical tourism market exceeded $100 billion (about 150 trillion won) as of 2024 and is growing by 15 to 25 percent each year.

Zeeshan Zaman, CEO of the global medical tourism brokerage platform Clinics On Call, told CNN, "Eighteen months ago, customers seeking medical services in Asia accounted for less than 10% of the total," and added, "Now, one out of every four inquiries is about China."

A street scene in Myeongdong, Jung-gu, Seoul on the 9th. Photo by Yonhap News

While Vietnam and the Philippines are also competing to become Asia's medical tourism hub, CNN cited Korea as a representative success story. According to the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade (KIET), more than two million foreigners visited Korea for medical purposes last year, setting a new record for the third consecutive year. Together with their companions, these visitors spent 12.5 trillion won, and the induced production effect amounted to 22 trillion won ($15 billion). The number of American patients was about 173,000, making them the fourth largest group after China, Japan, and Taiwan, and their numbers increased by more than 70% in just one year.

However, there are also risks associated with "medical tourism." If complications arise after returning home, it can be difficult to respond. Standards for pharmaceuticals and medical devices vary from country to country, and language barriers must also be overcome. Nevertheless, unless the cost of healthcare in the United States comes under control, this trend is unlikely to subside soon.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the nation's healthcare spending in 2024 is expected to approach $5.3 trillion (about 7,950 trillion won), more than double the figure in 2010.

As the number of agencies targeting Americans increases, competition is intensifying. Cici Yu, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Medora Health, a Hong Kong-based brokerage agency that arranged Isaias's surgery, said, "Many people see this as an opportunity to make a fortune and build an empire, so they jump into this market," adding, "But because they don't realize how complex it is, they ultimately end up failing."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.