Ningbo Yonghuibao Launches Affordable Health Insurance at RMB 59/year with Up to RMB 1 Million Coverage
For less than RMB 0.2 per day, you can secure a full year of health coverage. On July 18, 2020, at the press conference for Ningbo Yonghuibao—guided by the Financial Work Office of the Ningbo Municipal People’s Government, the Ningbo Big Data Development Administration, the Ningbo Health Commission, the Ningbo Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, and the Administrative Committee of Ningbo National High-Tech Industrial Development Zone—Ningbo’s first inclusive commercial supplementary medical insurance product, “Yonghuibao,” was officially launched.
Figure: Reports on Yonghuibao by the Ningbo Municipal Government Website and the Official WeChat Account of the Ningbo Municipal Health Commission
As an exclusive benefit for Ningbo residents, Ningbo Yonghuibao is closely integrated with the basic medical insurance system. It is underwritten by Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance Company of China, Ningbo Branch, with Shu Health providing the service platform. Breaking away from conventional practices in traditional commercial insurance—such as age restrictions, differential pricing, and exclusions for pre-existing conditions regarding eligibility and claims—it achieves universal coverage for all citizens.
Figure: Ningbo Yonghuibao Officially Launched
Starting from July 18, 2020, participants in Ningbo’s Basic Medical Insurance for Urban Employees and participants in Ningbo’s Basic Medical Insurance for Urban and Rural Residents, regardless of age, occupation, or health status, can enroll online by following the “Ningbo Yonghuibao” WeChat official account. The enrollment period ends on August 31, 2020.
Follow the “Ningbo Yonghuibao” WeChat Official Account to enroll immediately
“Yonghuibao is a significant public-benefit initiative in the health sector, representing a major innovation that integrates medical big data with medical insurance. It features broad population coverage, low premium costs, and close integration with resident health management. It holds highly positive significance for enhancing the level of health protection for Ningbo residents and preventing poverty caused or exacerbated by serious illnesses,” stated Du Yonghua, Deputy Director of the Ningbo Municipal Big Data Development Administration Bureau, at a press conference.
According to the introduction, Ningbo Yonghuibao is exclusively customized for Ningbo City. Adhering to an inclusive positioning, it requires an annual premium of only RMB 59 to provide medical insurance coverage of up to RMB 1 million, along with multiple health services such as video consultations with physicians, health inquiries, medication reminders, specialty drug delivery, and regular follow-ups. The coverage became effective on September 1, 2020.
Xu Wei, General Manager of Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance Company’s Ningbo Branch, stated that Ningbo Yonghuibao features four key characteristics: First, it is specifically tailored for Ningbo, and any resident enrolled in Ningbo’s basic medical insurance is eligible to purchase it. Second, it has low entry barriers, with no restrictions on age or occupation, no health declaration required, and no waiting period. Third, the premium is affordable, costing only RMB 59 per year. Fourth, it provides policyholders with a range of health services, contributing to the improvement of the overall health status of Ningbo residents.
From the perspective of insured age, Ningbo Yonghuibao imposes no age restrictions; individuals ranging from newborn infants to centenarians are all eligible for enrollment.
In terms of premium pricing, Ningbo Yonghuibao adopts a uniform rate for all age groups, with prices significantly lower than those of commercial million-yuan medical insurance products available on the market. For the latter, premiums typically increase with the insured’s age at policy inception, ranging from hundreds to thousands of yuan.
In terms of coverage, Ningbo Yonghuibao covers the out-of-pocket portion of inpatient medical expenses within the scope of basic medical insurance. This benefit has a deductible of RMB 20,000; amounts exceeding the deductible are reimbursed at 100% provided that the agreed-upon claim conditions are met, with a maximum reimbursement limit of RMB 1 million.
According to official statistics, in 2019, Ningbo had 7.544 million participants in its basic medical insurance program, with an enrollment rate of 99.58% among the registered population. This has established a multi-tiered medical security system featuring basic medical insurance as the mainstay, critical illness insurance as an extension, medical assistance as a safety net, and social charity and commercial insurance as supplements.
However, as socioeconomic development continues to advance, the “basic coverage” orientation of the medical security system has become inadequate to meet the public’s increasingly diversified and multi-tiered health protection needs. In February this year, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the Opinions on Deepening the Reform of the Medical Security System, which explicitly stated: “By 2030, we will fully establish a medical security system in which basic medical insurance serves as the mainstay, medical assistance provides a safety net, and supplementary medical insurance, commercial health insurance, and other forms develop in concert.”
VCBeat learned at the press conference that Ningbo Yonghuibao is tailored to the local medical care and health insurance landscape in Ningbo. The product innovatively applies the “Internet + Health Insurance + Health Management” model, providing not only million-yuan-level supplemental medical insurance coverage but also convenient health services specifically designed for Ningbo residents.
Among these, Yinshu Health, as a service platform, provides Ningbo Yonghuibao policyholders with health membership plans and critical illness services. For instance, residents of Ningbo can make one-click video calls to consult doctors online about common diseases and health issues, thereby avoiding the risk of cross-infection and the waste of medical resources during the epidemic. Residents can also book appointments with specialists for free to receive one-on-one telephone consultations. If policyholders are diagnosed with critical illnesses, Yonghuibao offers services such as rehabilitation guidelines, regular follow-ups, psychological counseling, delivery of specialty medications, and green-channel access for medical treatment.
At the press conference, Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance Company of China, Ningbo Branch, jointly with Yinshu Health, donated 1,000 policies of Ningbo Yonghuibao to the Ningbo Charity Federation, with a total sum insured reaching RMB 1 billion, providing robust protection for 1,000 charitable volunteers in the city.
Figure: Yonghuibao Complimentary Insurance Ceremony
“Diseases should be managed when they occur, and prevented when they do not. The innovative model combining insurance coverage with health management has turned the integration of prevention and treatment from a mere slogan into reality, helping the public avoid illness, suffer from fewer illnesses, and delay the onset of disease, thereby improving overall health and hygiene standards,” said Zhou Shenglai, Chairman of the Hospital Development Expert Committee of the China County Hospital President Alliance and Chairman of the Disease and Health Management Professional Committee of the Chinese Hospital Association.