Direct billing coordination for foreign patients in China

Locate the correct desk

Confirm campus, international/finance unit and admission contact. Hospitals may treat inpatient, outpatient and emergency charges differently; ask the actual desk for its process.

Transmit authorised GOP

Payer sends guarantee to the named hospital recipient with policy, episode, dates, scope and limits. Coordinator tracks acknowledgement, not coverage approval.

Check unresolved charges

Confirm whether a deposit, co-pay or non-covered service remains, who pays and how patient will receive receipts. Avoid promising cashless care before hospital acceptance.

Admission-day handover

Share arrival time, ID requirements and patient contact with authorised staff. If admission changes, renew both payer and hospital finance confirmations.

When the guarantee arrives late

A written guarantee may be issued after the patient has already arrived or after the hospital has requested a deposit. Ask finance whether it can apply the guarantee retrospectively to the same episode, whether the patient must initially pay, and how any amount already collected will be reconciled. Keep copies of acknowledgement and payment instructions, but do not assume a refund or conversion to cashless billing. The admission coordinator should tell the transport case owner whether payment is a condition of intake, so an arrival is not mistaken for a completed admission.

Changing treatment scope

If the clinical team orders a service outside the original guarantee, the payer may need a new review and the hospital may require separate payment. The coordinator should identify the hospital request, direct it to the authorised insurer or assistance contact, and record the response. Do not interpret policy clauses for the patient or tell the hospital that an unapproved service is covered. A separate transport invoice or escort expense may follow a different approval route from the hospital bill.

A practical status message

For the patient, describe three statuses separately: the payer has reviewed benefit, the guarantee has been issued to the correct recipient, and the hospital has acknowledged it for the proposed encounter. A green mark for one status must not hide a red mark for another. Tell the arrival team whether a deposit is still required, which desk will check the documents and who can resolve a mismatch. If the patient changes campus or service, return to payer and hospital rather than forwarding the old guarantee to a new desk. Keep policy numbers and clinical records out of public site forms.

Decision pathway

Only treat direct billing as active after payer authorisation and hospital acknowledgement for this admission.

Information for a useful first enquiry

Hospital/department, patient-authorised contact, payer and case number, GOP recipient/status, arrival date and deposit question.

For detailed clinical records, use a direct authorised exchange rather than this public page.

Official sources

• NIA insurance guidance

Last reviewed: 2026-09-29. Requirements can change; confirm with the responsible organisation.