Qilu Bao: Jinan Launches Affordable Supplementary Medical Insurance to Strengthen Multi-tier Healthcare Security System
VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that on October 24, the inclusive supplementary medical insurance product “Qilu Bao” was officially launched at the Shandong Health Building. Guided jointly by the Shandong Provincial Healthcare Security Administration and the Jinan Municipal Healthcare Security Administration, the product is jointly introduced by multiple insurance companies—including Taiping Pension, CPIC Life, CPIC Property & Casualty, PICC Health, PICC Property & Casualty, China Life, China Life Property & Casualty, Taiping Property & Casualty, Taiping Life, Sunshine Property & Casualty,德华安顾 (Dehua Angu), Asia Pacific Property & Casualty, and Ping An Pension—in collaboration with the Shandong Medical Insurance Big Health Platform. It is available to participants in Jinan’s basic medical insurance scheme and employees enrolled in the Shandong provincial-level direct medical insurance scheme, providing supplementary medical coverage of up to RMB 2.5 million.
As the provider of health services and technical support for “Qilu Bao,” the Shandong Medical Insurance Big Health Platform leverages digital technologies to create an integrated service model combining basic medical insurance and commercial health insurance. By enabling data interoperability between basic medical insurance and commercial health insurance, the platform empowers commercial insurance companies to deliver more refined health management services that cover both basic medical insurance and commercial health insurance for insured individuals. “Qilu Bao” has become the first product launched by the Shandong Medical Insurance Big Health Platform following the integration of basic medical insurance and commercial health insurance, with the first policy issued on the same day.
On the day of the press conference, Sun Licheng, Member of the Standing Committee of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Jinan Municipal Party Committee; Sun Jiye, Vice Governor of Shandong Province; Sun Shutao, Deputy Secretary of the Jinan Municipal Party Committee and Mayor of Jinan; Xi Yan, Director of the Shandong Provincial Health Commission; Zhang Ningbo, Director of the Shandong Provincial Healthcare Security Administration; Li Wenxiu, Director of the Jinan Healthcare Security Administration; Liu Guangyao, Deputy Division Chief of the Shandong Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau; Xiao Ning, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shandong Insurance Industry Association; Lin Zhe, Deputy General Manager of Taiping Pension Co., Ltd.; and Liao Jieyuan, Chairman of Shandong Internet Medical & Health Group Co., Ltd., along with other government and insurance industry leaders and guests, attended to witness the event.
“Qilu Bao” Launch Event
It is understood that “Qilu Bao” closely complements Jinan’s basic medical insurance, with coverage encompassing medical expenses for inpatient care and chronic outpatient conditions, as well as costs for new and specialty drugs. Individuals enrolled in Jinan’s basic medical insurance (including urban employees and residents) and those covered by the provincial-level employee medical insurance can scan the QR code to follow the “Shandong Medical Insurance Big Health” WeChat official account and purchase the policy online according to the instructions, with an annual premium of only RMB 59.
During the coverage period, for medical expenses incurred by insured individuals receiving inpatient and chronic disease outpatient treatment at designated medical institutions under Jinan’s basic medical insurance scheme, the portion within the scope of basic medical insurance that remains payable out-of-pocket after reimbursement is eligible for reimbursement up to a maximum of RMB 1.5 million. Meanwhile, “Qilu Bao” includes 15 therapeutic drugs for high-incidence cancers such as leukemia, liver cancer, and breast cancer, as well as other major diseases, in its “Qilu Bao New and Specialty Drug List.” Expenses incurred for using these specified drugs during the coverage period are eligible for reimbursement up to a maximum of RMB 1 million.
Building on its robust coverage, “Qilu Bao” will also provide round-the-clock, population-wide, comprehensive, and lifecycle-oriented health management services through the Shandong Medical Insurance Big Health Platform. This initiative aims to deliver proactive services, ensure continuous management, and promote better health, thereby effectively enhancing the capabilities of commercial health insurance products in delivering medical and health services.
Zhu Xuesong, Senior Vice President of Shandong Internet Medical Insurance and Big Health Group Co., Ltd., stated that by leveraging the big data capabilities and ecosystem resources of its digital health platform, the company can achieve precise outreach to target users and provide them with cost-effective medical security services.
In March 2020, the State Council officially released the "Opinions on Deepening the Reform of the Medical Security System," explicitly proposing to "fully establish by 2030 a multi-tiered medical security system with basic medical insurance as the mainstay, medical assistance as the safety net, and supplementary medical insurance, commercial health insurance, charitable donations, and mutual medical aid developing in concert." In August, the Shandong Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau, the Shandong Provincial Development and Reform Commission, and 12 other departments responded by issuing the "Implementation Plan for Promoting the Development of Commercial Insurance in the Social Services Sector in Shandong" (hereinafter referred to as the "Implementation Plan"). The plan put forward requirements and specific measures such as intensifying innovation in commercial insurance products and services, launching pilot programs allowing the use of personal medical insurance accounts to purchase commercial health insurance, and leveraging insurance mechanisms to improve the medical security service system. The launch of Qilu Bao represents a proactive effort to implement the "Implementation Plan," aiming to enhance coverage for major and critical illnesses through innovative service models.
In 2019, data from the Statistical Bulletin on the Development of National Healthcare Security, released by the National Healthcare Security Administration, showed that the basic medical insurance fund covered 75.6% of actual inpatient expenses within the policy scope for employee basic medical insurance participants, leaving individuals to bear the remaining 24.4%. For resident basic medical insurance participants, the fund coverage rate was 59.7%, with individuals bearing 40.3%. As of the end of June 2020, Jinan City had approximately 7.982 million medical insurance enrollees, including about 2.973 million enrolled in the Employee Basic Medical Insurance and approximately 5.008 million in the Resident Basic Medical Insurance. Inclusive supplementary medical insurance products, represented by “Qilu Bao,” can fill the gap in coverage for high-cost medical expenses not covered by basic medical insurance, reimburse part of the costs for medications used in treating major diseases, and thus help alleviate the burden of high healthcare costs for the public to some extent.
With years of experience in health insurance operations and services, Taiping Pension Insurance Co., Ltd. Shandong Branch serves as the lead underwriter for “Qilu Bao.” Lin Zhe, Deputy General Manager of Taiping Pension Insurance Co., Ltd., stated, “Commercial health insurance holds significant potential for market growth. Through multi-party collaboration to launch the Qilu Bao product, we aim to maximize risk mitigation and safeguard public welfare.”
Chen Chang, General Manager of Ping An Pension’s Shandong Branch, stated that Ping An Pension will actively leverage its professional expertise, progressively refine city-specific customized products, and make every effort to deliver high-quality services for “Qilu Bao,” thereby enabling residents to enjoy more convenient medical services.
It is understood that, following the successful integration of the first inclusive supplementary medical insurance product, the Shandong Medical Insurance Big Health Platform will continue to serve basic medical insurance and empower commercial health insurance. By achieving data interoperability and sharing, building digital health models for residents, and assisting commercial insurers in precise risk control, the platform aims to accelerate the integration of basic medical insurance and commercial health insurance, thereby better meeting the public’s multi-level and diversified healthcare security needs.