In the shadow of China’s booming economy, a dark underbelly of elder abuse is emerging through fake psychiatric hospitals running rampant insurance scams. Drawing from Beijing News reports, The Diplomat exposed dozens of such facilities in Xiangyang and Yichang, where operators fabricate admissions to plunder government medical funds.
Patients, often rural elderly or those battling alcoholism, are enticed with dirt-cheap or gratis stays. China’s insurance scheme covers most treatment costs, leaving facilities to pocket reimbursements for phantom care—at roughly 140 yuan daily per head. Some wards teem with over 100 souls; others sit eerily vacant.
Horrific conditions prevail: beatings, shouting matches, and coerced labor ranging from scrubbing floors to personal care for fellow inmates. Discharge becomes a nightmare, with prolonged detentions stretching into years, trapping the frail in a web of exploitation.
This racket underscores Beijing’s struggle with its graying society. Traditional family caregiving is buckling under urbanization’s weight—millions of youth flock to urban jobs, hollowing out villages and stranding grandparents. Low rural pensions and feeble public services funnel the desperate straight to these predators.
The report paints a grim picture of a system ill-equipped for the deluge: by mid-century, one in four Chinese could be over 65. While probes are underway and some hospitals shuttered, deeper fixes are needed—ramping up social security, investing in real geriatric infrastructure, and curbing fraud. Until then, China’s elderly remain prey to those preying on their plight.