A chilling exposé reveals how fraudulent mental hospitals in China are preying on the elderly to perpetrate widespread insurance fraud, spotlighting the nation’s faltering senior care framework. The Diplomat’s probe, citing Beijing News, details operations in Xiangyang and Yichang where clinics admit patients deceitfully to claim hefty government payouts.
Targeting society’s fringes—boozy wanderers and forsaken seniors—these dens offer ‘free’ beds amid a insurance system that foots most bills after minimal patient contributions. Undercover footage captures 140-yuan daily regimens, reimbursed almost entirely by the state, across facilities from ghost towns to packed hellholes.
Abuse is routine: punches, insults, and forced drudgery like mopping halls or washing peers. Exit doors slam shut post-admission, dooming some to multi-year ordeals.
At root lies China’s aging crisis. Family-duty norms crumble as migrant labor depopulates countrysides, isolating elders with scant pensions and patchy aid. The state assumes home care suffices, but reality bites hard.
With seniors projected to hit 30% of the population soon, this fraud signals systemic rot. Crackdowns are hitting rogue operators, yet sustainable solutions—pension hikes, village revivals, purpose-built care homes—lag. The scandal demands a reckoning: safeguard the old before the silver tsunami overwhelms.