SWISS RE PROPOSES PUBLIC-PRIVATE INITIATIVE FOR CHINESE HEALTH

Swiss Re has proposed a public-private partnership to the Chinese government to cope with the healthcare financing needed for China’s 1.3bn people. The proposal comes in the report “Reforming Chinese Healthcare Through Public-Private Partnership” and is the result of a year-long study that was conducted in response to an invitation by the China Insurance Regulatory Council to review the Chinese healthcare system. Currently more than 60% of Chinese have no access to affordable healthcare schemes. Swiss Re’s Clarence Wong said that “with no cohesive national schemes and little private medical insurance in place, China’s healthcare insurance system can be viewed as a fresh canvas — on which policymakers stand an excellent chance of achieving sustainable success”. The report proposes that China develop a multilevel health insurance system, where hospitals, patients and insurance carriers could be part of the “risk-sharing community”. Finally, the report proposes that the Chinese government “should leverage the private insurance industry’s expertise, professional administration experience and commercial instincts to uplift the standard of delivery practice”.