China's health insurance premiums to top 1 trillion yuan this year
China's health insurance market is expected to hit 1 trillion yuan (US$155 billion) this year after more than 10-fold growth over the past decade.
Health insurance premiums in the world's second largest economy reached 817.3 billion yuan in 2020 – 11.8 times that of 2011 – and are expected to hit 1 trillion yuan by the end of this year after reaping 571.7 billion yuan in the first seven months, said a joint study by PingAn Health Insurance and yicai.com.
And the private health insurance industry is projected to exceed 2 trillion yuan by 2025, according to a joint statement by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and 13 other departments.
The proportion of health insurance has been increasing every year over the past 10 years, from 7.1 percent of the personal life insurance market to nearly a quarter.
But the health insurance industry is not without problems.
Industry data shows that by 2020, China's health insurance payouts accounted for only 14.5 percent of personal out-of-pocket health expenses, far lower than the 37 percent in the United States, the study said.
At the same time, most of the existing product underwriting focuses on health notification, and has weak control over people's irrational medical behavior such as over-treatment and claims fraud.
To avoid these risks and adapt to the ever-changing consumer demand and medical environment, health insurers must seek specialized development by establishing closer ties with hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and other industry players, the report said.
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