Expatriates' Welfare Coverage in China (Shenzhen)

I am happy to discover InterNations becuz I was once an expatriate before in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. So I like to stay in contacts with the expatriate communities in various cities and share expereinces with them, or, in case there might be certain issues I may offer my advise to ease the lives of the expatriates in a forieign land away from their home countries.

I especially care about the social security of expatriates who are freelancers or self-employed individuals working in China as they are NOT entitled to the social welfare of China, especially in the areas of outpatient and hospitalization services, repatriation claims in case something happens unexpectedly etc. Foreign clinics are extremely expensive in China. I have expatriate friends who shared with me about these concerns. Besides, I also learn that from my friends, though they work for big and sizable companies, they are NOT provided companies' insurance plans for their benefits , but instead, they are given a lump sum which they have to source their own insurance plans to protect themselves and their family members while living and working in China.

I am interested to collect some data from the expatriates in the southern China how they deal with this issue and how they help themselves to solve it. I care and concern about this because I know how it feels ,as expatriates working and living away from home , when they run into these situations which needs care and attention.