CDRF Delegation Visits Germany and France for Research on Commercial Health Insurance
From July 16-23, 2023, China Development Research Foundation’s (CDRF) delegation visited Germany and France to conduct research on commercial health insurance. The delegation was led by Yu Jiantuo, Deputy Secretary General of CDRF, and comprised of Gao Shan, Deputy Representative and Senior Policy Director of the China Office of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), Wang Jian, Executive Director of the Health Economics and Management Research Center and Professor of Wuhan University, Jin Weigang, Deputy Director of the Institute of State System Research of Zhejiang University and Vice President of the China Association of Social Security, Jin Chenggang, Professor of the School of Social Development and Public Policy at Beijing Normal University, as well as Li Yang, Program Manager of Research Department 2, Yu Mengke, Deputy Program Manager, and Jia Xiaoke, Senior Program Manager of International Liaison Department of CDRF.
On the morning of July 17, the delegation visited Allianz headquarters and had a discussion on commercial health insurance. Jan-Christian Rosemeyer, Head of Asia-Pacific of Allianz, delivered a welcome speech, and Birgit König, CEO of Allianz Digital Health Insurance, introduced commercial health insurance in Germany in terms of products, underwriting, regulations, digitization, and the future trends.
On the morning of July 18th, the delegation visited to Merck for discussion and exchange. Kemal Uca, Head of Global Market Access at Merck introduced the German healthcare system, specifically Germany’s drug pricing and market access, and talked about the reform of the pharmaceutical products market and its main players, the bidding process and the outlook on the German healthcare system.
On the afternoon of July 18th, the delegation visited the Berlin office of The Boston Consulting Group. Jens Grueger, European Partner and Director of BCG, gave a welcome speech, and the staff of the Berlin office gave a systematic and comprehensive explanation of the German health insurance system from four aspects: segmentation of the health insurance system, characteristics of private and public insurance, current challenges and suggestions for future development.
On the morning of July 19th, the delegation went to IGES Group, where Chairman of the Board of Directors Bertram Häussler, and Managing Director Martin Albrecht, introduced the situation of health insurance in Germany, the operation of German hospitals, the management of the pharmaceutical market, and the regulations and guidelines related to the marketing of pharmaceuticals in Germany respectively.
On the morning of July 20, the delegation visited the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and had an in-depth discussion and exchange of views on topics such as the role of health technology assessment in France, health financing in OECD countries, the role of private health insurance in OECD countries, pharmaceutical policy, long-term care insurance in OECD countries, etc.
On the afternoon of July 20, the delegation went to the headquarters of AXA in France. Nathalie Weiss, Head of Regulatory Technology of the Group's Public Affairs Office, introduced the French social welfare pyramid and health insurance system. After the interactive discussion, Yu Jiantuo made a concluding speech.
On the morning of July 21st, the delegation visited and discussed with the Association of Groups of International Research Pharmacy (AGIPHARM). The discussion centered on the French healthcare system and private complementary health insurance, reforms relating to private supplemental health insurance, and challenges in supplemental health insurance and pharmaceutical financing.
On the afternoon of July 21, the delegation visited Sanofi headquarters. Josep Catlla, Head of Corporate Affairs of Sanofi Group, introduced the situation of Sanofi and welcomed the delegation, Yu Jiantuo introduced the purpose of this research and study. Sanofi staff gave the delegation an overview of the French healthcare innovation ecosystem and policies, introduced other healthcare systems and policies that promote innovation, and made international comparisons. The two sides also discussed and exchanged plans for future cooperation.
Through the visit, the delegation gained systematic knowledge of the healthcare system and the development of commercial health insurance in Germany and France, and the development model of commercial health insurance, medical payment system, health financing and other practices in OECD countries, which provide inspiration and ideas for the development of China's multi-level healthcare insurance system.
