More than nine out of 10 (94%) residents in China’s Greater Bay Area (GBA) are not satisfied with their level of ‘medical freedom’, a concept which encompasses their worries about high medical costs, a restricted medical network and inadequate access to quality healthcare, according to the Medical Freedom Survey by Prudential Hong Kong.
The survey showed that most respondents (86%) define “medical freedom” as the liberty to freely choose medical resources such as hospitals, doctors and medicine, while 85% interpret it as receiving prompt and adequate medical aids, and 82% see it as managing medical bills with ease.
The GBA is made of several cities in Guangdong province including Guangzhou (pictured) and Shenzhen as well as the two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. The GBA has a population of more than 86 million people.
Prudential conducted its survey in May 2024 through online questionnaires and street interviews among 750 individuals aged between 18-54, including 300 respondents from Hong Kong, 300 from mainland GBA cities and 150 from Macau.
And more than half (55%) the respondents cited high medical costs as a major obstacle to achieving “medical freedom.”
The survey also showed differences between Hong Kong residents, and people from other mainland GBA cities.
In Hong Kong, two-thirds (66%) of respondents said they were worried about steep rises in medical expenses – far higher than the corresponding percentage for respondents in mainland GBA cities (47%).
Their concerns may stem from expectations of medical inflation: respondents, on average, foresee a 16.4% rise in medical costs over the next decade. Hong Kong respondents anticipate an even higher increase of 17.7%, compared to 14.3% in mainland GBA cities.
And against a backdrop of soaring healthcare costs, GBA respondents overall believe that attaining medical freedom requires HK$5.5m (£54k)
Among them, Hong Kong respondents anticipate needing roughly HK$6.7m (£66k) to achieve medical freedom, equivalent to about 10 years of their household income.
Similarly, respondents in mainland GBA cities project a threshold of around RMB$4.2m (£45k), which is also comparable to about ten-years of household income. The amounts underscore the substantial financial challenge for respondents to attain medical freedom in both regions.
In addition to their medical expenses, respondents see the network limitations of insurance plans (46%), limited access to healthcare services due to their own busy schedules or rigid medical appointment schedules (37%), and limited access to quality healthcare services (35%) as obstacles to achieving medical freedom.
Respondents valued services such as global drug search (77%), second medical opinions (76%), and cross-border medical support (72%) – but less than half of the medical insurance plans they currently own encompass these services.
And only 43% of plans offer full single-room coverage, a priority for Hong Kong respondents, and just 55% provide international medical services, which are highly regarded by respondents in mainland GBA cities.
Felix Fung, chief product officer at Prudential Hong Kong said: “Residents in the Greater Bay Area see ‘medical freedom’ as a choice they can make in their medical journey, yet they face several obstacles in fully realising it.
“Almost a third (31%) of the respondents rate their current medical freedom as somewhat limited, a number that rises above 40% in mainland GBA cities.
“Our survey sheds light on growing customer demand for high-end, convenient and value-added medical services that transcend geographical limitations.
“In response to these evolving needs, Prudential is launching its brand new ‘PremierFlex Medical Plan’.
“With the comprehensive medical protection and world-class value-added medical services, the plan enables customers to achieve lifelong medical freedom with worldwide access, regardless of where they are.”
Candy Au Yeung, chief customer operations and health officer at Prudential Hong Kong, added: “Building on our extensive hospital network, the launch of this new plan further expands our designated hospital list in the Chinese mainland to cover more than 14,000 Grade 2 hospitals or above, putting us comfortably ahead of our industry peers.”