In the ever-changing medical industry, private hospitals are standing at a crossroads, facing unprecedented difficult choices: survival or dignity? When survival pressure surges like a tide, more and more private hospitals reluctantly choose to "go down" - voluntarily downgrade.

The trend of downgrading has emerged, highlighting the survival crisis of private hospitals

Recently, there have been frequent reports of hospital downgrades. According to a public announcement released by the Health Bureau of Meixian County, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province, Huaiya Dongfang Hospital in Meixian County will be downgraded from a second level comprehensive hospital to a first level comprehensive hospital from September 1, 2025. Coincidentally, many private hospitals such as Baoji High tech Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Sichuan Guangyuan Skin and Urology Specialist Hospital, Huainan Modern Hospital, etc. have voluntarily applied for downgrading, and even Linxia Mingrui Hospital has applied for downgrading from a first-class comprehensive hospital to an outpatient department. These hospitals, with different regions and scales, have all coincidentally embarked on the path of downgrading.

Behind the trend of downgrading is the heavy burden of survival that private hospitals cannot bear. On the National Enterprise Bankruptcy and Restructuring Case Information Network, searching for "hospital" as the keyword, there were a total of 1158 bankruptcy, liquidation and other cases in the whole year of last year. As of July this year, the number of similar cases has reached 766 by 2025. These sets of cold data all indicate the deterioration of the living environment of private hospitals.

High cost enterprises and medical insurance reform are the "two straws" that crush private hospitals

In the current market situation, the cost of maintaining the 'dignity' of secondary hospitals is too high, "said the director of a secondary private dermatology specialist hospital, expressing the feelings of many private hospitals. Secondary hospitals need to equip and regularly replace equipment that meets grade requirements, such as CT, MRI, etc., as well as have a sufficient number of senior professional title personnel and various full-time positions. These costs continue to rise every year.

The reform of medical insurance payment methods has become the last straw that crushes many private hospitals. With the advancement of DRG/DIP payment reform, the profit margins of private hospitals that rely excessively on medical insurance according to traditional models are continuously compressed. According to expert analysis, the DRG/DIP payment reform has led to a decrease in the average profit margin of private hospitals from 11.3% before the reform to 5.7%, and even 40% of private hospitals have fallen into a state of loss. In this predicament, downgrading has become a helpless means of survival for many private hospitals.

Downgrading is not omnipotent, transformation is the way out

However, downgrading is not a panacea for ensuring the survival of private hospitals. Leshan Huacheng Ear, Nose and Throat Specialized Hospital voluntarily applied to downgrade from a third level ear, nose and throat hospital to a second level ear, nose and throat hospital in 2021. However, just three years later, in May 2024, it ultimately chose to be deregistered. This case serves as a warning that downgrading is only a temporary measure, not a long-term solution.

Simply downgrading is not enough, the ultimate solution is definitely transformation, "emphasized Dean Cao Rui. Renowned healthcare reform expert Xu Yucai also pointed out that most of these downgraded institutions were previously approved or preliminarily recognized without undergoing hospital level evaluation. The core reason for actively applying for downgrade is to "survive", but transformation is the key to achieving sustainable development for private hospitals.

The way to break through: The Health Industry Conference guides you in the right direction

So, what should private hospitals do after being downgraded? Where is the direction of transformation? Don't worry, the 2025 Health Industry High Quality Cooperation and Development Conference will clear the fog and point you in the right direction.

This conference has launched the Zhejiang University Family Health 2025 Health Industry Innovation and Management Seminar, which is definitely an excellent opportunity to enhance oneself, expand one's network, and assist in transformation!

This training course is mainly aimed at professionals or managers in the medical industry (including hospital managers, etc.) and related fields of economic development (such as private economy, elderly care economy, etc.), such as hospital presidents, department heads, and senior personnel engaged in economic research, elderly care industry planning, and other related work.

The training content covers hospital development, smart healthcare, hospital talent and performance management under the reform of medical insurance payment in the medical field, as well as the development of private economy in the economic field and the elderly care industry under the silver haired economy, providing students with a comprehensive knowledge system. Register now to enjoy:

Teaching by renowned teachers: Led by lecturers from Zhejiang University for 3 days, they possess profound academic expertise and rich practical experience, and can bring you the most cutting-edge knowledge of health industry innovation and management.

Authoritative certification: After the course is completed, a Zhejiang University Continuing Education Graduation Certificate will be issued.

Additional training: In order to keep up with changes in medical insurance policies and enhance medical insurance management capabilities, two special training sessions for medical insurance experts are also provided.

Value added gift: For cooperative enterprise customers, a 2-day military management course will be given as a gift. By learning advanced management concepts and military practical training, we aim to enhance the team's management level and execution ability, injecting strong impetus into the transformation and development of the organization.

At the same time, the conference forum courses have been fully upgraded, with a strong lineup and rich content. Collaborating with over 200 industry teachers and relevant government leaders, we have organized academic seminars on "High Quality Development of Medical Insurance and New Situation of Fund Supervision", the 2025 Forum on High Quality Development of Hospitals in the New Era, the 2025 Pain Symposium, the 2025 Forum on Innovative Development of Grassroots Medical Care, the 2025 Forum on Innovative Development of Retail Pharmacies, and the 2025 Forum on Breakthrough Development of Pain Health Preservation. Further focus on the forefront trends of the industry, deepen policy interpretation and practical experience exchange, enhance the strategic vision and practical ability of participants, and help promote the coordinated innovation and high-quality development of the entire medical and health industry chain.

Conference Highlights

sneak peek

1. Medical Insurance Compliance X Policy Dividend: Upon successful registration, the "Medical Insurance Policy Practical Operation Manual+Medical Insurance Violation Case Warning Record" will be sent on-site to analyze the latest high-frequency violation cases of key inspections, allowing you to avoid fines/suspensions and easily grasp policy dividends.

2. Cost reduction and efficiency improvement in operation: Provide a complete set of customer improvement plans on site, including store personnel efficiency improvement guidelines, high gross profit product combination strategies, cloud chain+private domain traffic operations, etc., to help increase customer repurchase rates by more than 50% per month and achieve cost reduction and efficiency improvement in operation.

3. Breakthrough of performance bottlenecks: five major medical growth points - AI intelligence, chronic disease management, characteristic specialty building, Internet hospital, rehabilitation and health care, which will be implemented immediately after learning, with performance growth of 30%+, helping you break through performance bottlenecks and achieve rapid development.

4. Authoritative certification: The organizing committee/National Chain Outpatient Development Alliance will award the "Member Unit" on-site to enhance your industry influence and credibility.

Colleagues in private hospitals, although the challenges of survival are severe, the opportunities for transformation are also right in front of us. The 2025 Health Industry High Quality Cooperation and Development Conference is an industry event that you cannot miss. Here, you will gather with industry elites to explore the transformation path of private hospitals and find solutions to break through the impasse. Don't hesitate any longer, sign up now and let's ride the waves of the healthcare industry together, heading towards the shore of success!

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