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WellPoint to set up health insurance JV in China

By Hu Yuanyuan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-01-14 16:48

WellPoint Inc is scouting for a joint venture partner to set up a health insurance firm in China, the company's top management said on January 13.

"WellPoint is targeting 2011 for offering health insurance services through a joint venture," said John P. Domeika, president and CEO of WPMI LLC, a WellPoint joint venture. "The joint venture partner should have the same vision as us but need not necessarily be an insurance company," he said.

Though China Insurance Regulatory Commission encourages insurers to have a stake in quality medical service providers to better prevent potential risks, WellPoint does not intend to use that route, said Domeika.

As China's health reforms move forward, private health insurance is increasingly becoming an important complement to government insurance programs, thereby opening up a huge market for foreign insurers.