Hospital deposits and discharge settlement in China

Confirm the deposit before admission

Ask inpatient accounts how your deposit will be recorded and how an unused balance will be returned. Confirm the hospital's payment details, patient identifier, accepted payment method and settlement category. Keep the deposit receipt with your bank or card transaction record.

Deposit amounts depend on the hospital and admission arrangements. A published Shenzhen public-hospital schedule, for example, separates self-pay, local-insurance and out-of-area-insurance categories rather than giving one amount for every patient.

Prepare for the final account

• Ask how to check current charges and how additional deposits are notified.
• Before discharge, confirm when the final account will be ready and who can collect documents.
• Check the patient name, payments received, total charges and refundable balance.
• Request the official medical bill, itemized expenses and any refund reference issued.

Separate settlement from refund arrival

National guidance for public medical institutions calls for inpatient-cost settlement in principle within three working days after discharge, progressively moving toward 24 hours. That does not promise that a card reversal or overseas transfer will arrive within the same period.

Before leaving, record the refund route, processing stages and finance-team contact. Ask whether the original card or account must remain available and how an authorized representative can handle unfinished steps. Confirm alternatives directly with the hospital rather than assuming every foreign patient needs a Chinese bank account.

Official sources

• National Health Commission: public-hospital deposit management notice, 2025
• Shenzhen Occupational Disease Prevention Hospital: inpatient deposit schedule

← All posts