WeDoctor Raises $394 Million to Build China's Internet-Based Kaiser Permanente

Recently, Guahao.com secured $394 million in Series C financing. The round was led by Hillhouse Capital and Goldman Sachs Group, with participation from Fosun, Tencent, China Development Bank Financial, and others. How will this substantial sum be allocated? First, $300 million will be invested to build a nationwide internet-based tiered diagnosis and treatment platform. Second, $150 million will be invested to jointly establish five regional surgical centers across China in partnership with leading medical institutions ($94 million from this financing round and an additional $56 million from the company’s reserves), providing users with closed-loop online and offline medical and health services.

Meanwhile, Guahao.com announced its name change. Its parent company, “Guahao.com Limited,” has been renamed “We Doctor Group Limited” (hereinafter referred to as “We Doctor Group”). The group comprises three business brands: Guahao.com (guahao.com), the web portal of We Doctor Group; We Doctor, the mobile internet platform of We Doctor Group; and We Doctor ACO (Accountable Care Organization), the health insurance system of We Doctor Group.

Since its establishment in 2010, WeDoctor Group has connected more than 1,600 key hospitals and 190,000 experts across China, providing services such as triage and guidance, appointment registration, online consultation, and medical payment to over 100 million real-name authenticated users, while pioneering the internet-based team healthcare model. Currently, WeDoctor Group operates 2,800 WeDoctor Teams; by the end of this year, the number of WeDoctor Teams is projected to reach 5,000, with the number of expert team members reaching 150,000 and the professional general practice triage workforce within the teams totaling 15,000.

Building on this foundation, WeDoctor Group will align with the trends of healthcare reform policies, rapidly extending high-quality medical resources connected via the WeDoctor platform to grassroots levels. The company plans to connect one million primary care physicians within 15 months, transforming the WeDoctor platform into a “National Internet-Based Tiered Diagnosis and Treatment Platform.”

In addition, WeDoctor Group will launch the WeDoctor “Accountable Care Plan” (WeDoctor ACO). Similar to an internet-based version of Kaiser Permanente in the United States, WeDoctor ACO provides tiered medical services, precision health management, and medical cost coverage on a family basis. Currently, WeDoctor Group serves over 2 million health insurance users.

Liao Jieyuan

How to Build the “Kaiser Permanente” of the Internet?

Kaiser Permanente’s management model integrates health insurance with healthcare delivery, emphasizing “prevention first and combining prevention with treatment,” while prioritizing the supply costs of medical services as well as the operational costs and efficiency of its medical facilities. Furthermore, Kaiser uses medical professionals as its core management unit, seamlessly integrating health management with clinical care, and has established strong collaborative relationships with the government. At a time when overall healthcare expenditures in the United States have surged, Kaiser has managed to reduce costs by 10%–20% compared to other hospitals. Currently, nearly 30% of Americans have chosen Kaiser Permanente as their health insurance provider.

In China, the current state of health management for ordinary patients is as follows: there is a lack of professional guidance after falling ill; medical assistance often relies more on “self-help,” such as leveraging personal connections to jump the queue; and medical expenses not covered by insurance are basically paid out-of-pocket. These three aspects are fragmented and fail to interact effectively. However, the Internet-based Accountable Care Plan proposed by WeDoctor Group is expected to achieve integration among these three elements.

“Convenience, efficiency, and health enhancement are the core value propositions of WeDoctor Group’s Responsible Care Plan,” said Liao Jieyuan, Chairman and CEO of WeDoctor Group. The three-tier healthcare protection is based on the tiered diagnosis and treatment system established by WeDoctor Group. The first tier includes coverage from responsible physicians within a three-kilometer radius; signed responsible physicians will manage all health and medical issues for members. The second tier provides coverage through tertiary hospitals within the same city. The third tier offers access to top multidisciplinary specialist care.

The second pillar of WeDoctor Group’s Accountable Care Plan is the Precision Health Management System. WeDoctor Group is planning targeted, personalized genetic testing and health check-ups for its members, with the aim of establishing comprehensive health records from the outset, thereby enabling accountable physicians to effectively monitor and address members’ health and medical issues.

“Accountable care plans also include essential medical expense coverage,” believes Liao Jieyuan. In addition to basic health insurance, members should enjoy coverage for outpatient and emergency visits, hospitalization and surgery, and critical illnesses. This constitutes the third pillar of WeDoctor Group’s accountable care plan: medical expense protection.

Liao Jieyuan stated that WeDoctor Group’s Accountable Care Plan is merely the first step in a long journey. Moving forward, WeDoctor Group will collaborate with partners—including healthcare institutions, physicians, insurance providers, and health management organizations—to make greater efforts and explore new initiatives aimed at improving national health indicators. It is reported that the Accountable Care Plan is currently being piloted in select regions and among specific populations, with further details on membership services to be disclosed in due course.

In fact, since 2013, WeDoctor Group has been exploring entry into the health management sector. For patients, it partnered with insurance companies to offer customized health insurance products tailored to users. For physicians, WeDoctor Group and Taikang Life jointly launched the “Physician Peace of Mind” protection plan in October 2014. In July 2015, WeDoctor Group collaborated with ZhongAn Insurance to introduce personal professional liability insurance for physicians.

“From appointment registration to team-based care, and from team-based care to Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), Guahao.com has always focused on breaking through the fundamental pain points of China’s healthcare system.” Liao Jieyuan stated that, driven by the combined forces of demand, technology, and policy, internet healthcare has the full potential to enable China’s healthcare system to achieve leapfrog development.