Medbanks Secures Strategic Investment from China Re Life to Accelerate Insurance Innovation

On March 10, 2020, VCBeat learned that MediTrust Health (Shanghai MediTrust Health Technology Co., Ltd.), a leading innovator in healthcare payment solutions in China, announced it had secured strategic financing from China Life Reinsurance Company Ltd. (“China Life Re”) and would establish a comprehensive strategic partnership with the insurer.

As another key strategic partner, Li Yongzhong, Executive Director and Vice President of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Group Co., Ltd. and General Manager of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holdings Co., Ltd., stated, “We are delighted to see the achievements made by MediTrust Health. As one of MediTrust Health’s significant shareholders, Shanghai Pharmaceuticals will leverage its pharmaceutical distribution business to facilitate MediTrust Health’s comprehensive integration and strategic layout within the insurance industry.”

Zhang Xiaodong, CEO of MediTrust Health, stated, “This round of financing will be used to expand innovative insurance businesses and accelerate industry deployment. Furthermore, by leveraging the strategic resources of China Re Life Insurance within the insurance industry chain, we will provide stable risk management capabilities, unlock synergies, and effectively support the implementation and upgrading of our corporate strategy. The strategic partnership with these two leading players will accelerate MediTrust Health’s evolution into a truly significant payer in both the pharmaceutical and insurance sectors.”

MediTrust Health was founded in August 2017. Since its inception, the company has been dedicated to exploring innovative payment solutions in healthcare, launching various initiatives such as financial installment plans for high-value medications and efficacy-based insurance programs. MediTrust Health not only operates China’s largest innovative payment platform by patient volume but also leads the industry in the number of exclusive partnerships with multinational pharmaceutical companies for innovative payment projects on new drugs.

Yao Kang Fu, its one-stop innovative medical payment and pharmaceutical solution brand, has become one of the most influential comprehensive pharmacy benefit brands in China. It covers over 90% of DTP (Direct-to-Patient) pharmacies across approximately 400 cities nationwide, benefiting hundreds of thousands of patients and saving them more than RMB 1 billion in medication costs annually.

Yao Yi Bao, the brand under MediTrust Health dedicated to innovative medical insurance solutions for commercial insurers, has partnered with commercial insurance companies to launch nearly 50 drug-specific insurance products, initially focusing on specialized oncology medications. Building on this foundation, it has developed more comprehensive innovative health insurance products covering drugs, medical devices, and innovative therapies, providing coverage for tens of millions of healthy individuals and families.

In addition, MediTrust Health, in collaboration with the Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone Administration, has built an “Innovative Commercial Insurance Payment Platform.” By pooling support from multiple stakeholders, including the government, pharmaceutical companies, and insurers, this initiative aims to establish a domestic healthcare demonstration window, thereby benefiting more Chinese patients.

China Re Life, an investor in this funding round, is a leading enterprise in China’s reinsurance industry. Currently ranked among the top ten globally, it holds over 70% of the market share in China’s life reinsurance sector. Tian Meipan, General Manager of China Re Life, stated, “We are delighted to invest in MediTrust Health, a leader in the field of insurance innovation. Leveraging its industrial integration innovations, exemplified by the ‘product + pharmaceuticals’ model, and its strengths in big data risk control, China Re Life will support MediTrust Health in continuously optimizing the industrial ecosystem while pursuing commercial value. This collaboration will further integrate health protection with the healthcare industry and lead sector development.”

“Drug Insurance” was developed against the backdrop of the rapid growth of the health insurance market and transformations in the pharmaceutical industry, addressing a key pain point: the public’s urgent demand for advanced medical resources, which is often constrained by limited affordability due to high costs. Since late 2018, MediTrust Health has assisted multiple direct insurers in launching “Drug Insurance” products and providing related drug supply services, making it another phenomenal blockbuster health insurance product following million-yuan medical insurance.

“Drug Insurance” products, which are affordable for the general public and genuinely accessible during illness, have pioneered a refined and controllable model for medical insurance products through positive drug formularies and agreed-upon claims processes. They serve as a typical example of the integrated innovation between health protection and the healthcare industry. China Re Life provided comprehensive technical support in the development of such products, including product design, data analysis, actuarial pricing, and reinsurance arrangement. In the future, China Re Life will continue to collaborate closely with MediTrust Health in the field of medical insurance innovation, contributing to the construction and improvement of a new ecosystem for health insurance.