Sanlian Life Weekly cited the example of a nine-year-old boy's appendectomy. The boy's family paid a total medical cost of RMB7,962. Of this amount, RMB3,635 was for Western drugs while the surgeon's fee was RMB304, meaning that the drugs fee was 12 times that for the operation. In other countries the biggest expense is labor, which averages about 50 % of the total hospital bill.
生活周刊以一名 9 歲男孩的闌尾切除手術為例指出，他的家人總共支付 7962 元人民幣醫療費，其中西藥費 3635 元，醫師手術費 304 元，藥費竟是手術費的 12 倍；而其它國家醫院的最大支出大多是人力，占總支出的 50 % 左右。