Insurance+ Series Report: Taikang Online and Roche Forge a New Commercial Health Insurance Model for Cancer Patients
Established only six months ago, Taikang Online, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Taikang Life Insurance, has engaged in multiple in-depth collaborations with internet giants such as Taobao, 360, and Tencent within an extremely short period. These include “Leyebao,” launched in partnership with Taobao, and “Feichangbao,” developed in collaboration with Qihoo 360. The recognition Taikang Online has garnered from various stakeholders is not solely due to its backing by Taikang Life Insurance; what has further earned it industry acclaim is its adherence to the “short, flat, and fast” internet-driven operational model.
In terms of collaboration, in addition to traditional internet giants, Taikang Online will also partner with enterprises in the broader health sector that possess advantages in doctor-patient resources or products—such as internet healthcare providers (including those serving vertical populations and specific disease segments), innovative public medical institutions, mid-to-high-end private medical institutions, health service organizations specializing in physical examinations and rehabilitation, precision medicine companies, and smart wearable device manufacturers—to seek new market opportunities.
This is the third installment of our series, focusing on the collaboration between Taikang Online and Roche Pharmaceuticals in combining commercial medical insurance with innovative anti-cancer drugs.
Luo YongqingMr. [Name] graduated from Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, and holds an EMBA degree from CEIBS (China Europe International Business School). With over 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry both domestically and internationally, his professional background spans roles including surgeon, sales, marketing management, market access, and medical insurance. He currently serves as Vice President at Roche Pharmaceuticals China, where he is responsible for corporate affairs, market access, and channel management.
As one of the world’s largest biopharmaceutical companies, Roche is a market leader in oncology. Among major multinational pharmaceutical corporations, Roche was the first to establish a complete pharmaceutical value chain in China, encompassing research and development, manufacturing, and marketing. “Benefiting more patients in China” is Roche’s mission in the country.
The Opportunity for Collaboration Between Roche Pharmaceuticals and Taikang Online
“Ensuring that every eligible patient has access to Roche’s innovative medicines is a key proposition and strategic priority we have been continuously contemplating and exploring.” This is Mr. Luo Yongqing’s vision for the company’s future development.
The high cost of anti-tumor treatments means that most innovative targeted anti-cancer drugs with significant efficacy have not yet been included in the national basic medical insurance reimbursement list. A survey conducted in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou revealed that out-of-pocket expenses for certain cancer patients account for 70% of total costs. Many patients lose the optimal treatment opportunity because they cannot access the most appropriate therapeutic regimens, leading to disease recurrence or death in some cases. Additionally, a substantial number of patients fall into poverty due to their illness, imposing an excessive financial burden on their families.
As a pharmaceutical company with a century-long history, Roche has been working hand in hand with the government, medical institutions, charitable organizations, and other sectors of society since entering the Chinese market in 1994. It has innovated and promoted cooperation with local governments on critical illness insurance, jointly exploring appropriate co-payment models to help more Chinese patients afford innovative products and improve drug accessibility. In 2013, Roche’s collaboration with commercial insurance companies was featured in detail by Bloomberg Businessweek as an innovative payment case study.
Currently, the government is actively promoting the development of commercial medical insurance, aiming for it to serve as an effective supplement to social medical insurance in order to meet increasingly diverse healthcare needs. For critical illness insurance, which addresses substantial rigid demand (with over 70% of critical illnesses being cancer cases), commercial medical insurance has already become one of the important payment methods. Roche Pharmaceuticals chose to partner with Taikang Online due to its innovative capabilities and keen insight into market opportunities within the commercial medical insurance industry. It can be said that this collaboration benefits from favorable timing, geographical advantages, and strong human synergy.
Regarding the synergies in our partnership, Mr. Luo Yongqing stated, “There is substantial unmet demand for standardized treatment of cancer patients and the use of innovative drugs. The key to meeting this significant need lies in patients’ ability to pay. Commercial health insurance can significantly enhance patients’ payment capacity, which is a crucial reason why we have reached a conceptual alignment with Taikang Online for collaboration. Throughout our cooperation, we highly appreciate Taikang Online’s strategic vision focused on holistic health, its courageous spirit of exploration, its efficient and pragmatic professional attitude, and its commitment to delivering high-quality services.”
In light of this opportunity, Roche Pharmaceuticals has partnered with Taikang Online. Roche provides data and insights on disease epidemiology, trends in disease progression, as well as treatment options and associated costs, thereby supporting Taikang Life Insurance in the development and promotion of commercial medical insurance products for critical illnesses.
The collaboration aims to promote standardized diagnosis and treatment, as well as disease management services.
In China, the incidence of breast cancer has been rising year by year. According to the 2012 National Cancer Registry Annual Report, the incidence rate of female breast cancer in China was 42.55 per 100,000, accounting for 16.81% of all cancers, ranking first among all female malignancies. In 2011, results from China’s first large-scale epidemiological survey on breast cancer, initiated by the China Cancer Foundation, showed that the age of onset for breast cancer in China is trending younger. The median age at diagnosis for female breast cancer patients was 48 years, which is 10 years earlier than in Western countries.
Against this backdrop, the two parties have jointly launched a breast cancer insurance product targeting patients suspected of having breast cancer, which covers diagnostic and treatment services as well as the use of innovative anticancer drugs. This is the first insurance product in the market based on disease-specific diagnosis and treatment management. Taikang Online and Roche Pharmaceuticals hope to promote standardized treatment and disease management services for breast cancer through this product.
In terms of insurance product design, patients do not need to wait for a confirmed diagnosis; they can purchase this insurance during the suspected breast cancer stage. If insured patients are unfortunately diagnosed with the disease, they may use Roche’s anticancer drugs for treatment, provided their condition aligns with the drug’s approved indications as guided by clinical practice guidelines. Meanwhile, Taikang Online will provide compensation.
Mr. Luo Yongqing candidly stated, “This is a highly innovative step. Through this new collaborative model, we not only provide greater protection for more patients but also advance standardized diagnosis and treatment as well as disease management services for breast cancer. As the largest multinational oncology pharmaceutical company, Roche’s greatest value lies in enabling more Chinese patients to access the innovative medicines they truly need.”
A Sustainable and Replicable Model with Multi-Party Benefits
“In addition to breast cancer, we hope that future collaborations will continue to expand into more cancer types, such as colorectal cancer and lymphoma, which are high-incidence and common cancers,” Mr. Luo Yongqing told VCBeat. In theory, this collaborative model can be replicated for other cancer-related products; however, due to differences in treatment pathways, mortality risks, and prognoses across various cancers, the design and development of insurance products will vary accordingly.
Regarding the future of commercial health insurance, Mr. Luo Yongqing stated, “China’s health insurance sector holds immense potential for development. Currently, the variety and volume of products available in the market are relatively limited. Compared with developed countries in Europe and the United States, health insurance accounts for only 5% of the total insurance market size in China, whereas it represents 30–40% in the United States. This indicates that China’s commercial health insurance industry is still in its early stages. Given the growth rate of health insurance over the past few years, there is substantial room for expansion in the future.”
“The key to success lies in how to integrate all stakeholders across the value chain of pharmaceuticals, healthcare services, and medical insurance, and to design innovative insurance products tailored to the Chinese market under the principles of risk sharing, benefit sharing, and value reshaping. Roche is highly committed to maintaining a long-term strategic partnership with Taikang Online Insurance to jointly explore the blue-ocean market for critical illness insurance. I am also confident that our collaboration holds significant potential for growth and offers broad market opportunities.”
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