Pacific Prime Clients in China to See Increased Cover as Health Insurance Premiums Continue to Grow
(PRWEB) August 20, 2013 -- Pacific Prime clients residing in China are likely to experience an increase in available cover options as health insurance premiums continue to grow. Reports from the first half of this year indicate that premiums have increased by 25.8%, a figure already higher than the total 24.6% growth of last year.
This rapid growth has been mainly due to increased marketing efforts by insurers that are stressing the importance of major illness. While this increase in cover will mostly be beneficial for the population, the government will need to consider several cost issues to ensure stable success.
The Chinese government aims to ensure universal healthcare for its population by 2020 and it has been working on several reforms to achieve this. Where in 2004, only 10% of the population had access to some form of medical coverage, 95% of the population were reported to have coverage in 2011. The cover that many PPI clients in China had access to several years ago was much different than today.
In addition to international insurance companies expanding in the country, a number of government schemes have helped increase coverage for those with little to no income, mainly residing in rural areas.
Despite the positive steps being taken so far, there are still several hurdles to achieving sustainable universal healthcare in China. 80% of China’s hospitals are located in city centers, and the quality of treatment at rural facilities is significantly poorer than those in the cities.
Pacific Prime analysts are curious to see how China will financially adapt to a population that has seen such a sudden increase in health care. Such an increase will likely lead to a higher life expectancy and thus a greater need for quality elderly care.
Raising the level of health care in a country as big as China at such a rapid pace undoubtedly carries a financial risk. Fortunately, with China's substantial economic boom, the government should be able to continue creating effective health care reforms to benefit both the Chinese insurance market and the Chinese population. With the rapid pace at which the Chinese medical insurance landscape is changing, PPI analysts are eager to see how their clients will respond in both the short and long term future.
To read more, visit http://www.pacificprime.com/resources/news/2013/08/15/china-growth-major-illness/.
Neil Raymond, Pacific Prime, 31131331, [email protected]
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