After "Grade A Hospitals," The Second Half of Insurance Companies' Healthcare Ventures: What to Compete on Instead of Bed Count?

Financial Daily Reporter | Yuan Yuan Financial Daily Editor | Liao Dan

Recently, Taikang Xianlin Gulou Hospital was rated as a “Class III Grade A” hospital, which not only affirms the hospital’s medical strength but also reflects the成果 of insurance funds’ exploration in integrated medical and elderly care.

In recent years, accelerated population aging, the continuous promotion of the Healthy China strategy, combined with industry transformation efforts, have made the healthcare industry a “core track” for insurance institutions’布局. Data shows that by the end of 2025, insurance funds will have invested over 400 billion yuan directly or indirectly into the medical and elderly care industry, with various hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and comprehensive medical complexes becoming重点布局对象.

From Ping An’s integration of Peking University Medical resources and Taikang’s “community + hospital” model to Qianhai Life’s self-built tertiary comprehensive hospitals, insurance companies are shifting from mere capital investors to builders of healthcare ecosystems. The “Insurance + Medical” model is moving from concept to implementation.

Policy Relaxation + Demand Release, Insurance Funds’ “Golden Window” for布局

Behind the rising investment in hospitals by insurance companies is a resonance among policies, markets, and industries.

On the policy front, regulators continue to loosen restrictions on insurance funds. In 2020, multiple departments jointly issued documents supporting insurance funds’ lawful investment in health service industries, allowing commercial insurance institutions to orderly invest in establishing traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine medical institutions, as well as rehabilitation, care, and integrated health services.

By 2025, the “Implementation Plan for High-Quality Development of Banking and Insurance Pension Finance” clearly supports well-capitalized and规范 operation insurance companies to稳健有序 invest in elderly care institutions, rehabilitation hospitals, specialty hospitals, etc., providing clear policy guidance for布局.

In the same year, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission further optimized the scope of major equity investments by insurance funds, clarifying the relevance of the medical industry to insurance业务, and guiding increased投入 into healthcare and related fields.

Market-wise, the intensifying aging population has generated huge medical需求, opening broad development空间 for hospital industry. Data shows that over 300 million people in China are over 60 years old, with more than 40 million老人 with disabilities or半失能, and the elderly’s demand for医疗康复, chronic disease management, and高端诊疗 services is growing increasingly urgent.

Meanwhile, residents’ health awareness continues to提升, the commercial health insurance market不断扩容, and consumers’ demand for integrated “Insurance + Medical Services” is becoming stronger—no longer satisfied with simple post-claim reimbursement, but more focused on全流程 services including预防, diagnosis, and康复, providing a solid市场基础 for insurance companies to integrate医疗资源 and布局 hospitals.

Industry-wise, the transformation of the insurance industry is forcing insurance funds to seek new growth engines. In recent years, traditional insurance业务 faces product homogenization, fierce competition, and declining yields. The寿险行业’s “difficulty in recruiting new agents and slowing premium growth” has become increasingly prominent, and the industry urgently needs new突破口 and profit growth points.

Medical产业 has抗周期 characteristics, stable cash flow, and long-term returns, highly matching the long-duration liabilities of insurance funds. Additionally, investing in hospitals allows insurance companies to complete the "Insurance + Medical"产业链闭环, solve issues like难以管控的理赔 and low客户黏性, and promote the industry from “risk compensation” to “health management.”

“From the perspective of insurance companies,布局 hospitals and医疗服务的战略价值在于突破传统业务瓶颈：一是化解利差损风险，在利率下行周期通过实体资产获取稳定收益；二是构建竞争壁垒，通过医养生态形成差异化产品服务，摆脱同质化价格战；三是激活存量客户，将低频的保险消费转化为高频的健康服务交互，提升客户黏性与终身价值。” China Enterprise Capital Alliance Vice Chairman Bai Wenxi told the Daily Economic News.

Leading by top players, diversified models, and differentiated布局

Currently, leading insurance companies like Ping An, Taikang, China Pacific Insurance, and New China Insurance, leveraging their capital,客户, and licenses, have taken the lead in布局 and formed各具特色的发展模式. By the end of 2025, these top insurers have布局多家综合医院、康复医院及医疗综合体 nationwide, forming a full链条服务体系 covering “prevention—diagnosis—rehabilitation—elderly care.”

Regarding模式, insurance companies’ hospital investments vary: some acquire through mergers and acquisitions, others choose自建医院.

For example, since taking over Peking University Medical Group in 2021, Ping An has全面启动资源整合、运营改革、学科建设和人才规划. In terms of模式, they abandon heavy资产扩张, adopting "light assets, heavy services, top medical资源整合"策略, leveraging the synergistic advantages of the Ping An集团’s "综合金融+医疗养老"生态, to构建 “健康管理—综合诊疗—康复治疗” full-cycle服务模式. Data shows that by 2025, Peking University Medical Group’s non-Medicaid收入增长达35%, outpatient and emergency visits突破3.2 million, and tertiary and quaternary surgeries同比增长20%.

Heavy资产自营模式, represented mainly by Taikang, Sunshine Insurance, and Qianhai Life, is a pioneer in health and elderly care布局. Taikang, via Taikang JianTou platform, pioneered the "Insurance + Medical Elderly Care"模式,坚持 "一个社区、一家医院"的标准化布局, and through自建、投资、合作等方式,逐步布局实体医疗服务. Currently, Taikang Medical has established five major medical centers nationwide, including Taikang Xianlin Gulou Hospital, Taikang Tongji (Wuhan) Hospital, Sichuan Taikang Hospital, Ningbo Taikang Brain Hospital, and Shenzhen Qianhai Taikang Hospital.

Of course, these two approaches are not entirely distinct; insurance companies often combine heavy资产模式 with some light assets, creating线上与线下协同的服务网络. Some insurers using轻资产模式 also invest in one or two实体医院.

Yuan Shuai, Deputy Director of Investment at China Urban Development Research Institute, told the Daily Economic News that heavy资产模式 is more suitable for first-tier cities or core strategic regions, where land acquisition, hospital建设, and团队自建 allow absolute control over医疗质量、品牌标准及服务细节. Its核心优势在于打造如泰康仙林鼓楼医院般的“三级甲等”标杆,通过高门槛形成品牌护城河,为高净值客户提供稀缺资源. Light assets模式则适合快速下沉市场和多点布局,通过参股、托管或联盟等方式整合存量医疗资源,其核心优势在于资金利用效率高、扩张速度快,能迅速建立覆盖广泛的服务网络,以较低边际成本实现全国性保险产品配套服务,是抢占市场份额和实现服务标准化的利器。

专科特色与康复为重点，保险公司投资医院的三大核心趋势

“闭合型健康闭环就是凯撒医疗模式，这一模式下医生集团只为凯撒医院提供医疗服务，几乎全部资金都来自凯撒保险；联合健康模式属于半开放型健康闭环，这种模式下能让更多的用户和医疗资源参与进来，更好地实现医养结合。”业内人士表示，医疗保险闭环经历了从封闭到开放的发展阶段，通过整合内外部资源实现医疗价格和网络的均衡，但随着长寿时代的到来，健康闭环建设逐步受到老龄化的挑战，如何让客户健康长寿成为保险公司亟待解决的问题。

这一问题也引起业内机构和从业者的关注。针对长寿带来的健康挑战，保险公司的解决方案是与医学院合作，加大康复、慢性病等医学领域的投入和探索。例如，中国太保于2022年与上海交通大学医学院签署战略框架协议，共建“交医—太保源申康复研究院”，探索康复医学新模式。

柏文喜表示，在老龄化浪潮与健康中国战略的双重驱动下，“保险+医疗”的跨界融合正从探索期步入成熟期，其最终目标不是简单的资产配置，而是构建一个以健康为中心、以保险为支付枢纽、以医疗为服务支撑的新型健康生态系统。展望未来，保险公司投资医院将呈现三大核心趋势：

一是从“跑马圈地”转向“精耕细作”，早期险资布局偏重资产规模与床位数量，未来将更注重专科能力建设、运营效率提升与医疗质量认证。

二是科技赋能成为差异化关键。AI辅助诊疗、远程医疗、智能健康管理将深度融入险资医疗体系，不仅提升服务效率，更通过健康数据反哺保险产品创新与风控优化。

三是“重资产标杆+轻资产网络”成为主流范式。以少数旗舰医院树立品牌与标准，以广泛合作网络扩大覆盖，既能控制资本消耗，又能实现规模效应，这一模式兼顾了服务品质与商业可持续性，预计将成为行业共识。

“未来险资投资医院将呈现‘精细化运营’与‘数字化共生’的核心趋势，同时不再盲目追求床位数量，而是深耕专科特色与康复效能。”袁帅也表示，在此过程中，“重资产做标杆、轻资产扩规模”将确定性地成为行业主流模式。保险公司将利用少数重资产项目确立“服务天际线”和技术标准，作为品牌的核心和压舱石；同时通过数字化平台连接大量轻资产机构，形成“塔尖引领、塔基覆盖”的阶梯式生态。这种模式既解决了重资产模式下资金周转率低的痛点，又规避了轻资产模式下服务品质参差不齐的风险，是保险公司在保费杠杆与实体运营之间寻得的最优平衡点，也将推动医疗健康服务走向真正的分级诊疗与连续性管理。