Workers at hospitals in several parts of China are facing cuts to wages and performance bonuses, with some medical workers reporting monthly base salaries of less than 2,000 yuan ($298) as public institutions struggle under mounting financial pressure.
The reductions are adding to financial concerns for workers already dealing with a weakening economy. Some hospitals have also been accused of delaying wages for months, while others have faced financial difficulties, including unpaid debts, drug shortages, and suspension of operations.
Several China-based individuals familiar with the matter spoke to The Epoch Times on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal.
An employee in the medical administration department of a public hospital in Hangzhou, surnamed Qian, told the publication that a hospital in the area cut nurses’ monthly base salaries from 2,750 yuan ($410) to 2,200 yuan ($328) in August—a 20 percent reduction.
In Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, a resident surnamed Liu, whose family member works as a nurse at a public hospital, told The Epoch Times that the nurse’s base salary had gradually fallen from 3,700 yuan ($551) per month before the COVID-19 pandemic to about 1,700 yuan ($253) today. The hospital has also stopped paying bonuses.
Hospitals Face Growing Wage Crisis
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Reports of unpaid wages have also triggered protests by medical workers in several parts of China.
In November 2025, medical workers at Suihua People’s Hospital in Heilongjiang Province staged a protest over unpaid wages. When The Epoch Times contacted the hospital’s emergency department at the time, the person who answered the phone said employees had gone five or six months without receiving their salaries. The workers remained on the front line while continuing to seek payment of their wages and social security contributions.
In Jiangxi Province, Tianhu Hospital in Leping fell into financial difficulties following changes to health insurance policies and subsequently owed employees wages before dismissing its entire workforce, according to Chinese state media Xinhua News Agency. In 2024, Luxinan Hospital in Shandong entered bankruptcy liquidation proceedings after owing more than 600 employees eight months of wages, according to a hospital notice.
The cases illustrate the financial pressures facing some hospitals, although the circumstances vary from institution to institution.
Financial Pressure Affects Patients
Financial difficulties can also pressure hospitals to find other ways to generate revenue, according to an insider.
A public official working in a health department in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, surnamed Sun, told The Epoch Times that hospitals that receive partial government funding may face larger financial gaps when government allocations decline.
“Hospital funding is a differential appropriation system. If fiscal allocations decrease, the hospital has to find ways to generate revenue to make up for the shortfall, which means collecting it from patients by raising fees,” Sun said. “But now ordinary people can’t afford to see a doctor, so fewer people are going to hospitals, and the hospitals’ losses become even greater.”
He said some hospitals in Jiangsu had faced complaints over their charges and were penalized by authorities. After some hospitals were required to restore their previous fee schedules, their revenues declined further, widening their fiscal gaps.
Ye Zilong contributed to this report.
