Birth Rights

During 2009 we all witnessed a host of messy debates over healthcare reform. Throughout the news coverage of various overhaul proposals, other countries' systems were sometimes discussed and their particular pros and cons weighed. I spent time reading about health insurance policies and health outcomes in other western, developed nations. I never, however, looked into the system here in China. Always interested in health matters, I asked a family friend here yesterday (American, but has lived in Shenzhen 3 years and is now married to a native Chinese man) what she knew about the healthcare system in China. She said that the concept of having a primary care physician is quite new, but she knows of people working to promote the concept of general, family medicine and community health. Instead, she shared, people tend to go to the hospital for all medical care. Need glasses? Hospital. Need dental care? Hospital. Need a little medicine for an infection? Hospital. You go to the main floor and describe your problem and then go on to whichever floor has the "equipment and specialists" for solving your particular medical concern. I say "equipment and specialists" facetiously here because the one Chinese hospital visit that has been described to me in the past was riddled with unsettling descriptions of long lines, sloppy procedures and sore oversights in safety and sanitation measures.

With my curiousity peaked about the healthcare system here in China, I took note of an article that appeared in the Shenzhen Daily yesterday. Entitled "Hong Kong hospitals reopen for Shenzhen moms," the article highlighted that mothers living in mainland China could once again pay to give birth in Hong Kong. There was apparently a temporary ban on this practice from October until the January 1 to open up beds for Hong Kong women on the maternity floors. What is the advantage of having your baby in Hong Kong? The obvious answer is that for mainland Chinese mothers, the hospitals in Hong Kong are more westernized, that is, provide cleaner facilities with higher standards of care. What the article also shared however, is that a child born in Hong Kong is automatically granted permanent residence there, which translates to free healthcare and 12 years' compulsory education. What's more, Hong Kong residents have visiting visa fees waived for 100 plus countries. What does this service cost? According to the article, about US $5000 is the minimum, but that includes the hospital stay and pre-labor checkup as well. If free healthcare and education is thrown in too, it's easy to see why this trend has become so popular. In fact, I looked a little more into this "pregnancy tourism" phenomenom and learned that 600 babies were born to mainland Chinese mothers in 2001, but that number grew to over 25,000 by 2008. In my internet searches I found a Washington Post article on the topic from last month. It brought up another major perk of having a child in Hong Kong-this practice acts as a loophole in the one child cap enforced under China's family planning policy because the Hong Kong born baby doesn't count. While the practice seems to annoy or anger some Hong Kong locals, the private hospitals there enjoy the extra revenue brought in by their busy maternity wards. I asked my Mom what she knew about this concept, and she attested to the fact that thousands of children cross the border every single day for school, wearing their passports around their neck in little lanyards. The free, high quality education provided by Hong Kong to its residents gives precious opportunity and promise of a brighter future that is worth many sacrifices on the part of parent and child. One thing I do not understand is the sustainability of these practices...Hong Kong is a wealthy city but how long can it provide free education for its own children as well as residents of bordering neighborhoods in mainland China? Interesting topic, and today I feel particularly grateful to be an American.