In Depth: China’s Public Hospitals Face Debt Crisis Amid Health Care Reforms

In the autumn of 2024, a public hospital in South China’s Guangdong province suspended operations and declared bankruptcy. Some staff were out 10 months of salary.

This case is symptomatic of a broader financial crisis facing public hospitals across China, where institutions are grappling with mounting debt and declining revenue. The situation stems from years of aggressive expansion coupled with recent policy reforms designed to reduce health care costs for patients.