Wife in China seeks repayment from mother-in-law for covering husband's medical expenses at the hospital
A woman named Zhou from Jiangsu province in eastern China has gone viral on mainland social media, following a heated discussion about going Dutch on medical expenses that occurred in April 2023.
Zhou had been supporting her son and daughter-in-law's lifestyle until her son was hospitalized due to heart disease at the beginning of the year. The family had always split the bills prior to this event, but the hospital bill payment and the subsequent message from Zhou's daughter-in-law asking for her son to reimburse the payment as soon as possible caused Zhou to feel confused and disappointed.
The daughter-in-law had used her son's bank card to pay for the hospital bill during his surgery, but the payment and the request for reimbursement were not mentioned in the context of their 18-year marriage or the family's financial situation.
In traditional Chinese culture, it is often expected that family members, especially parents, bear the cost of medical expenses for seriously ill relatives without splitting bills. The daughter-in-law's request to share the cost after the son's heart attack broke with these expectations, causing tension and emotional upset for the mother.
This situation has reignited a heated discussion about changing family financial norms in China, where the idea of going Dutch on medical expenses is controversial and seen by some as lacking filial piety or familial solidarity. Zhou's story was shared online, and many netizens have expressed their opinions on the matter.
Despite the ongoing discussion about going Dutch on mainland social media, it did not affect the initial conversation about Zhou's situation. The family's previous practice of splitting bills was not affected by the hospital bill payment and the subsequent message from Zhou's daughter-in-law.
In conclusion, the story of Zhou and her family has sparked a debate about family financial norms in China, as the daughter-in-law's request to split the medical bill for her son's heart attack was seen as a departure from traditional expectations. The mother, Zhou, felt confused and disappointed by the request, and the situation has ignited a heated discussion on social media.
Zhou, in light of her personal-finance struggles supporting her son and daughter-in-law, found the sudden request for reimbursement of her son's hospital bill confusing and disheartening, as it deviated from traditional Chinese expectations of familial financial support in such situations. The ongoing discussion about going Dutch on medical expenses in China, spurred by Zhou's story, highlights the need for broader conversations about modern budgeting and family financial norms.
