Within the same medical insurance region, the lower the hospital level, the higher the reimbursement rate — the difference is roughly 10 percentage points

No direct cost involved. The real challenge is resisting the urge to go to a larger hospital.

The document requires regions to differentiate inpatient reimbursement rates between levels of medical institutions, with a gap of around 10 percentage points at each step in principle. At that gap, going up one hospital level for the same inpatient bill increases your out-of-pocket payment by about 10% of the expenses eligible for reimbursement. For example, on 10,000 yuan of eligible inpatient expenses, a reimbursement rate falling from 80% to 70% increases your payment from 2,000 to 3,000 yuan. The additional 1,000 yuan is one-tenth of the total bill but half as much again as your original out-of-pocket payment. Actual local rates differ, and deductibles and reimbursement ceilings also change the difference; this is only an illustration using the document’s 10-percentage-point gap. Newly added annual medical insurance funds also favor primary healthcare.

国务院办公厅 (2026). 关于加快建设分级诊疗体系的若干措施. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202604/content_7065031.htm：「因地制宜适当拉开参保人员在不同等级医疗卫生机构的住院报销水平，原则上统筹地区内医疗卫生机构住院报销比例逐级拉开10个百分点左右的差距。」「具备条件的地方，可按分级诊疗导向酌情拉开参保人员在不同等级医疗卫生机构的门诊报销水平。」

For the same hospitalization bill, the out‑of‑pocket difference between a community clinic and a tertiary hospital can reach several thousand yuan. This guideline does not suggest that every condition should be treated at a community level; rather, it advises seeking care at lower‑level facilities whenever possible.