China – What else can we say about it that no one has said already? In a nutshell, China reinvents itself every day with new ideas, desires, needs and solutions. We at the West picking into China and its vast prairie of opportunities, are constantly baffled by its sheer size and complexity; notwithstanding its ability to steer the country and its specific needs and solutions in a clear direction. Simply put, there are 1.3 billion Chinese in China, who are working hard to be proud of China. It is a rare case when someone would work less than 10-12 hours per day. As we are not a political entity, we don’t mean to make any judgment related to any of the Chinese work behavior, but simply to point you in a direction that gives an indication of the magnitude of China and it’s strength or potential.
In early June I was fortunate to travel to China to learn, once more, about the vast opportunities this market has to offer; and, attempt to assess where we at UnitedHealth International may be able to take part of this vibrant market. As part of this assessment, I was hosted by UnitedHealth International’s China Representative, Ms. Gloria Wang, and a close friend who now runs China’s foremost Healthcare Scheduling (basic network operations) and primary care clinics, Mr. Lee Zhang, the CEO of the I-Kang group. Together we met with government officials (both at the Ministry of Health and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission), public and private hospital executives and private entrepreneurs. As the purpose for this journey was mostly to re-invigorate our focus on China, we were involved mainly in fact finding.
Let me share with you some of my basic findings, as we are beginning to align our interest with the potential amalgamated within the marketplace. In China, there is almost no primary care or general practitioners who practice their trade in primary care clinics as we are so familiar with them in the developed countries. Accordingly, the main doctor-patient activity is within hospitals. That of course puts a great pressure on hospital administrators which have to effectively operate within the hospital wards an out patient facility. Additionally, as most cost of healthcare is out-of-pocket expenses and consumption of healthcare is treated effectively similar to a consumer product.
Additionally, China’s low penetration of health insurance stems primarily from lack of knowledge and familiarity. Most Chinese still think of insurance, those that do spend time thinking about it, as a vehicle for savings and for risk protection.
Notwithstanding, there is a strong development of the health insurance market as more and more people realize the value of having such insurance.
Finally, the government is clearly pushing to develop China both in terms of accessibility and quality of care. As is now, and would probably continue to be in the near future, China is struggling with the affordability and accessibility of healthcare in remote rural areas. But the East coast cities (with such familiar names as Beijing and Shanghai,) are leading the road to a robust private healthcare insurance industry. Clearly, UnitedHealth International and its parent, UnitedHealth Group, are seriously considering our next move in China, as we believe this is a market with an enormous potential for a top quality healthcare company such as UnitedHealth Group.
Ori Karev, CEO
UnitedHealth International
Mr Ori Karev presented a token of appreciation to the officials of CIRC to wish China will hold a successful Olympic Games in August 2008
From left to right:
Ms. Zhang Lei, officer
Health/Pension Insurance Department, China Insurance Regulatory Commission
Mr. Duan Jia Xi, Director
Health/Pension Insurance Department, China Insurance Regulatory Commission
Mr. Ori Karev, CEO UnitedHealth International
Mr. Lee Zhang,
CEO, I-Kang group
Ms. Gloria Wang
Chief Representative, UHI China office
