U.S. Health Insurers Look To China For Growth

They say the Chinese market is complicated, well what do we have here, same thing. Well Point and UnitedHealthCare have already made some inroads as well. The article states they are taking some of the same principles used in the US over there, well good luck as our system can’t get any more complicated for the average consumer. One positive item worth a quick mention though is that there are more Chinese individuals speaking English these days due to the Internet, so the translation process might be a bit easier than it was a few years ago. In a related insurance article, the CMA found potential over spending in administration with one carrier, so it makes you wonder, where does the money come from to expand to other countries when citizens here are having to fight to get adequate medical care and we still have so many in need. BD

Aetna and other U.S. health insurers are wide-eyed over business opportunities in China now that the sleeping giant has lifted its own lids. Hartford-based Aetna plans to announce today that it has opened a "representative office" in Shanghai.

That is the first step of a lengthy process for foreign companies interested in doing business in the People's Republic of China. Other insurers, including UnitedHealth Group and WellPoint, have established such offices in China, and CIGNA has already hooked up with a Chinese company to sell supplemental health insurance there. U.S. insurers, fighting each other for members in their own nation's strained economy, have been searching for more growth opportunities and entering more countries around the world. China is just one of the latest prospects. But with 1.3 billion people, a developing middle class and even some affluence, it's a powerful draw to U.S. insurers.

U.S. Health Insurers Look To China For Growth -- Courant.com