In 2017 Chinese authorities begun offering tax incentives to encourage middle-class families to purchase private health insurance. Beginning July 1, individuals who buy eligible insurance products can reduce person income tax by up to 2,400 yuan a year.
The tax cuts fall under a host of reforms aimed at rethinking health care provision for the nation’s vast and aging population. For most people in China, health care means public hospitals; treatment is partly paid out of pocket and partly reimbursed through compulsory insurance provided by their employers or state pension. Reforms aim to give patients more choices and ease the burden on the public purse.
Market solutions are playing an increasing role in health care: According to state news agency Xinhua, the number of private hospitals in China more than doubled from 2010 to 2015. By the end of 2015, there were 14,500 private hospitals, accounting for 52.7 percent of total hospitals in the country. The government hopes that greater uptake of private health insurance, alongside the rapid growth of private medicine, will reduce pressure on overworked, overcrowded public hospitals.
The private health insurance sector is thriving. From 2013 to 2014, total medical insurance premiums increased 41%, from RMB112.3 billion to RMB158.7 billion, rising another 52.5% to RMB241.1 billion in 2015. According to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), 5 insurance companies specialize in health insurance and another 100 offer health insurance products, including 28 foreign life insurance companies. CIRC reported more than 2,300 health insurance products in the market
But public awareness of and consumer confidence in private health insurance is low, even among those who can afford it — and most of the products eligible for tax cuts under the recent policy still only reimburse treatment at public hospitals.
There are two main types of private health insurance on the mainland: The more popular products are life insurance-like critical illness policies that pay out lump sums if the policyholder is diagnosed with certain conditions. If the holder makes no claims within a set period, their premiums will be returned with interest, meaning the policy operates as a form of investment or retirement plan in addition to offering indemnity. On the other hand, health insurance policies that reimburse treatment are often seen as a waste of money, as there is no return if the holder makes no claims — though these policies typically offer more comprehensive coverage.
Only about one in 20 people in China has a reimbursement health insurance policy, according to a 2016 joint report by global business consultancy Boston Consulting Group and reinsurance company Munich Re. Though the market for private health insurance saw consistent year-on-year growth of around 31 percent between 2010 and 2015, more than 70 percent of its 241 billion-yuan value in 2015 was made up of critical illness policies. But as indemnity policies for critical illness do little to support the growth of China’s burgeoning private hospital sector, authorities are working to promote private reimbursement health insurance that covers outpatient consultations as well as inpatient treatment.
Tax incentives for purchasing private health insurance were piloted in 31 cities including Shanghai and Beijing beginning Jan. 1, 2016, but only a handful of domestic insurance companies have offered eligible products. Most of the eligible insurance products target employers rather than individuals.
The report above forecasts that the market for private health insurance in China will increase fivefold between 2015 and 2020, and that reimbursement policies will see the fastest growth. Government tax incentives can help foster the mindset that health insurance is necessary and financially advantageous: once people buy the incentivized insurance, they are more likely to research and consider other private health insurance options in the future.
Chinese private insurers
The number of foreign companies in the Chinese market is increasing, but the dominant players in China’s private health insurance market are large domestic insurers. The three largest health insurers are Ping An Health Insurance Company, PICC Health Insurance Company and China Life Insurance. China Life is the largest domestic life insurance company (and the world’s largest life insurer), with 10% of its total premium income derived from health insurance. Other large Chinese health insurance companies include Hexie Health Insurance Company, which is part of the Anbang Insurance Group and Kunlun Health Insurance Company.
