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 The cluster of nine buildings, connected by dark, narrow
passageways, offers cheap accommodation for patients unable to
afford a coveted hospital room, a reflection of the vast
inequalities in China's overburdened healthcare system.
These "cancer hotels" have sprung up near hospitals around the
country to house some of the more than three million people
diagnosed with cancer in China every year.
Patients often travel hundreds of miles to city hospitals because of
poor facilities in their home regions, creating a wave of cancer
"refugees" often living on a shoe-string as they struggle to pay for
care.
"There's an imbalance between the big cities and small ones. Good
doctors don't want to work in small places," said Liu, 46, a migrant
worker who brought his wife more than 750 km (450 miles) to see a
specialist in the capital in May.
His wife, Wang, 42, was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the
beginning of the year, and was told by family she should leave her
hometown in Inner Mongolia for treatment.
"If you have some serious illness then you'd better go to Beijing,"
said Liu. Both husband and wife asked that Reuters use only their
surnames to protect their privacy.
A manager of one of the hotels said most patients stayed for between
several months and a year while they waited for treatment.
FINANCIAL BURDEN
The costs all add up. A cheap train ticket for Wang and Liu's
16-hour journey was 321 yuan ($48), while a room at the hotel sets
them back about 70 yuan a night, half the price of a hospital bed.
Their simple room, with a translucent blue shawl hanging across the
door, had a television and fan. They can also cook at the hotel.
The financial burden for Chinese patients with serious conditions
like cancer or diabetes can be overwhelming. Official data shows
that up to 44 percent of families pushed into poverty were
impoverished by illness.
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Stories abound of patients or their relatives going to extremes to
pay for care: turning to unapproved treatments, sleeping rough or
even donning fancy dress in public to raise funds.
State health insurance does reach nearly all of China's 1.4 billion
people, but coverage is basic, meaning patients, on average, foot
almost half the bill. That can rise much higher for chronic or
complex diseases like cancer.
"The hardest part for us is the money," said Pan, 60, who came to
the Beijing cancer hotel with his wife, Huang, after she was
diagnosed with rectal cancer in 2013. "We are farmers, we have
already spent over 270,000 yuan ($40,500) since 2013."
Many people turn to friends, relatives or shadowy lenders to pay for
travel and treatment. Many end up in queues outside hospitals paying
ticket touts or doctors to speed things up.
"Only half our costs can be covered by the medical insurance," said
Pan.
"We're not city folk who can lend out thousands of yuan at a time.
Families in our area are poor. We have to borrow money for
treatment."
(Writing by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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