Healthcare in Shanghai for Australians

Short answer: Shanghai has excellent doctors, but nothing is free, you usually pay before you're treated, and Medicare won't cover a cent. Sort your insurance before you need it.

The short version

Australia has no Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with China, so every bill is yours or your insurer's.
You have three choices: a crowded public hospital, the international or VIP wing of a public hospital, or a private international hospital.
Public hospitals often want a deposit first, typically RMB 3,000–7,000 for an admission, and many don't take foreign cards [1].
Several big international hospitals now accept Shanghai's basic medical insurance for part of the bill, and the city is widening direct billing with commercial insurers [4][7].
Bring a supply of your regular medicines in a reasonable quantity, with paperwork for anything controlled [6].

How it differs from home

At home you flash your Medicare card, see a bulk-billing GP and, if it's serious, end up in a public hospital without a bill. Shanghai works differently in four ways.

No GP gatekeeper. Most locals go straight to a hospital outpatient department. GP-style clinics are rare outside clinics aimed at foreigners [1].
Pay first, treat second. You register, pay a registration fee, see the doctor, then pay for each test or prescription at a cashier before you get it [1].
Family does the caring. On a public ward, relatives are often expected to bring food and help with things nurses do in Australia. You can sometimes hire a carer, but they rarely speak English [1].
Less privacy. Consultations can happen with other patients in the room [1].

None of this means the medicine is worse. Shanghai's big teaching hospitals are among the best in China. It just means the system around the doctor is unfamiliar, and the bill lands on you.

No reciprocal agreement

Australia's Reciprocal Health Care Agreements cover a short list of countries, mostly in Europe plus New Zealand. China isn't one of them. Medicare is also tied to living in Australia, so a long move can affect your cover at home too. Read our guide to Medicare when you live abroad before you cancel anything.

Public, international wing or private: the three options

Option	What it's like	Language	Cost and payment	Best for
Public hospital, general outpatients	Big, busy, fast once you're in, long queues to get there [1]	Mostly Mandarin; bring a Chinese speaker [1]	Cheapest; registration fee plus each test, paid at the cashier [1]	Locals, specialists, people with strong Mandarin
International or VIP wing of a public hospital	Same hospital and specialists, separate entrance, private rooms, coordinators [1][2]	English widely spoken in the main international centres [2]	Considerably more than general wards [1]; some bill foreign insurers directly [2]	Expats who want top specialists with less chaos
Private international hospital or clinic	Western-style service, appointments, GP-style care [1]	English standard, often several languages [5]	Highest prices; direct billing with many insurers [5]	Families, kids, routine care, first stop for most Aussies

Public hospitals with international services

Shanghai has run pilot programmes for international medical services since 2020 in private hospitals and since 2023 in public ones. In 2024 it issued China's first local standard for international medical services, covering multilingual support, appointments and insurance direct billing [3].

Names you'll hear often:

Huashan Hospital has a long-running International Medical Center with a dedicated support team [2].
Huadong Hospital has direct billing arrangements with foreign insurance companies [2].
Zhongshan Hospital is known for modern facilities; the city's own write-up describes one patient getting consultations, blood tests, an ECG, a diagnosis and prescriptions in about three and a half hours [2].
Ruijin Hospital has bilingual signage and self-service machines for international visitors [2].
Shanghai East International Medical Center on South Pudong Road runs outpatients seven days and 24-hour emergency and inpatient care, with English among seven languages [5].

Private international hospitals

Jiahui International Hospital, Parkway Shanghai Hospital, Shanghai Raffles Hospital and Shanghai United Family Hospital are the big names [4]. They feel closest to an Australian private hospital. They're also where your insurer will most likely send you.

A useful 2025 change: these four now accept Shanghai's basic medical insurance under a combined payment scheme. The government scheme pays the basic service charge and you or your commercial insurer pay the rest. At United Family's Pudong hospital, that's said to cover 5 to 30 per cent of the bill, depending on the service [4]. It only helps if you're enrolled in Chinese social insurance through your employer, so check with HR.

Paying: deposits, cards and insurance

This is where Australians get caught out. The doctor is ready, but the cashier wants money first.

Deposits

If you're admitted to a public hospital, you get an admission notice and pay a deposit at the admissions office. Costs come off the deposit, you top it up when it runs low, and any balance is refunded at discharge. Initial deposits are typically RMB 3,000–7,000 [1]. Even if you're insured, you may need to pay the deposit until your insurer's money arrives, and treatment can wait until then [1].

Cards and apps

Many hospitals don't accept international credit cards. Expect to pay by Chinese bank account, cash, Alipay or WeChat Pay [1]. Link your Australian card to both apps before you need them, and keep some cash. Our guide to daily life and paying with WeChat and Alipay covers the setup, including the foreign-card limits.

Insurance

Cover	Who has it	What it does in Shanghai
Chinese social (basic medical) insurance	Most foreign employees, via payroll	Covers part of public hospital bills and, since 2025, part of the bill at some international hospitals [4]
Employer group or international health plan	Many expat packages	Usually the main cover; may pay international hospitals directly [2][5]
Individual international health insurance	Freelancers, trailing partners, retirees	Same idea; check the direct billing list and exclusions
Australian travel insurance	Short-term visitors	Often excludes people living overseas; read the residency clause
Australian private health insurance	Your old fund at home	Generally doesn't cover treatment abroad

Shanghai's 2025 healthcare measures also aim to let patients settle bills directly through commercial insurance at more hospitals, including specialty and international departments [7]. That's helpful, but it's a plan rolling out, not a guarantee at every counter. Always ask "direct billing or reimbursement?" before treatment.

If your package includes insurance, ask HR for the policy wording, the insurer's direct billing list and the claims app. For more on cover from home, see our guide to private health insurance when you move overseas.

Visiting a public hospital: step by step

Book ahead. Most hospitals expect online booking through their app, a WeChat mini-program or by phone [1].
Bring your passport and your insurance card or policy number.
Register and, at many hospitals, get a hospital payment card, then pay the registration fee [1].
Take a number and wait for the department you booked.
Pay for each test or prescription at the cashier or by app, then do the test or collect medicine at the hospital pharmacy [1].
Keep every receipt and the medical record for your insurer. Ask for an English summary if you can.
Coming back for results? You'll usually repeat registration with the same payment card [1].

Medication: bringing it and buying it

Bringing medicine from Australia

China lets you carry a small amount of medicine for personal use, in a reasonable quantity, subject to Customs inspection [6]. Narcotic and Class 1 psychotropic drugs are allowed only for treating an illness and only up to the maximum of a single prescription. You need a medical diagnosis certificate from a medical institution and your passport [6]. Shanghai Customs answers questions on 021-12360 [6].

That affects some ADHD medicines, strong painkillers and certain sleeping or anxiety tablets. Talk to your Australian GP well before you leave about switching, stocking up within the rules, and getting a letter that lists the generic names and doses. Keep medicines in their original pharmacy packaging.

Buying medicine in Shanghai

Some brands common in Australia aren't sold in China, and some medicines can't be imported at all [1]. If a public hospital doesn't stock what you need, clinics aimed at foreigners may [1]. Chinese doctors often want to make their own diagnosis before they'll renew a prescription written elsewhere [1], so book a consult rather than expecting a quick repeat.

Emergencies

Dial 120 for an ambulance. It takes you to the nearest hospital, which may not be the one your insurer prefers, and the ambulance itself charges a fee based on distance and medicines used [1].

Save the address of your nearest 24-hour international emergency department in Chinese on your phone.
Know your insurer's 24-hour assistance number and policy number.
Keep enough on Alipay or WeChat Pay, or in cash, for a deposit.
For a serious illness or death of an Australian, the Australian Consulate-General in Shanghai can help with contacting family, but it can't pay your bills.

New to Shanghai and want a doctor or dentist someone actually rates? Ask in Cooee China, our Facebook group for Australians in China (join here). Someone will have taken a toddler to emergency at 3am and lived to tell the tale.

Healthcare in Shanghai: international clinics, VIP wings and who pays