Raman anxiously awaits his mother's test results at one of the leading private hospitals in Bangalore, India. Working as a clerk for a small commercial business, Raman earns $476 USD per month. While supporting a family of four - his wife, child, and widowed mother - Raman barely makes ends meet each month. He has already spent $544 out-of-pocket for preliminary diagnostics to determine his mother's cancer status. He is told the rest of her tests will cost between $270 and $350. The treatment, which includes surgery to remove a tumor found in her right breast, will cost around $4,762. Raman has basic insurance coverage from his employer for himself, his wife, and his child but his mother remains uncovered. The treatment in a public hospital would be less expensive, however public hospitals are overcrowded with a waitlist of 6-8 weeks for cancer surgery. Please click here to view the article.
4th Annual International Healthcare and Finance Forum
The 4th Annual International Healthcare and Finance Forum was successfully concluded in Beijing on April 22nd and April 23rd, 2021. The Forum invited over 70 well-known opinion leaders and scholars at home and abroad, to discuss leading topics under the core themes of "health insurance reform" and "multi-layered medical security", and to exchange views on policy outlook and industry trend. Please click here to view the summary of the event.
ACCESS Health India Facilitates Rollout of Innovative Financing Product for Hospital Staff
As a part of the Fintech for Health program, ACCESS Health India, in partnership with Entitled, recently launched the Entitled Sanjeevani health card for employees of the Cardiac Care Center at Durgabhai Deshmukh Hospital in Hyderabad, India. The Entitled Sanjeevani health card is a bundled financing product for lower- to middle-income employees and is customized to the income level and preference of the staff. The product offers a combination of pre-approved health loans, micro-savings, and accident cover. Through the Fintech for Health program, ACCESS Health is matching low and middle income groups needing access to financing for health, with innovative affordable tech-enabled financing products. With this partnership, ACCESS Health supported Entitled to identify a willing healthcare provider, design features and limits suited to the provider, engage regularly with the users to ensure maximum uptake and avail benefits. Entitled is a fintech company that aims to enable access to financial services for more than 34 Million blue and pink-collar workers in India. Entitled partners with factory and industry employers to provide access to emergency funds, rewards, discounts on healthcare and daily essentials, saving programs, and counseling for its workers. The B2B2C model allows us to reduce risk and lower the distribution cost to open up the opportunity to reach a large unserved base of blue-collar workers. This target segment typically does not have reserve funds or the habit of saving for healthcare emergencies. Through this program, ACCESS Health has helped Entitled foray into serving the healthcare worker segment, thereby supporting pink-collar workers such as nurses and blue-collar workers such as security and housekeeping personnel in hospitals to meet their health financing needs. ACCESS Health is also working with Entitled to explore more providers and other types of firms in the health sector, such as health device manufacturers, whose employees can benefit from this bundled financing product. The Sanjeevani health card has a host of useful features for each employee and has been made available at zero cost to the employee or the employer. The card entitles them to a pre-approved credit limit up to twice their monthly salary for health and wellness expenditures which can be used for all family members. The credit limit of up to INR 7,500 (~USD 103) for out-of-pocket expenses like pharmacy bills, lab tests, OPD, and up to INR 50,000 (~USD 685) for hospitalization expenses. The loan comes at a flat interest rate of 1.75% per month and a flexible repayment structure ranging from 3-12 months, through a digital EMI option. The user can avails doctor on call and discounts of 20 to 30 percent on out-of-pocket expenses on medicines and diagnostics at a monthly membership of INR 99 (~USD 1). Other add-on options are term life insurance and hospital cash plans. Perhaps, the most well-received feature was the micro-saving option, with the flexibility to save in some or all months and with the option of instant withdrawal in case of emergency. The users will have access to an emergency fund by investing as low as INR 200 (~USD 3) in a liquid mutual fund plan, which is a low-risk plan with an average annualized return of around 6 percent. Entitled is also placing one local staff, who will regularly visit the hospital to counsel the employees, and easily clarify issues with enrollment or availing benefits from the Sanjeevani card. More than 600 million Indians, which is about half the country's population, are considered middle class. Considering income and Purchasing Power Parity thresholds, the lower-middle class lives on $2 to $4 per person per day and upper-middle on $6-10 per person per day.[1] Many of the lower middle workers have limited access to suitable health financing options and even lower awareness of their benefits. There needs to be a focus on this segment because many poor have transitioned into this section of society and it will take only one economic shock for them to slide right to the level that they worked hard to climb out of. The collaboration was made possible through Fintech for Health, a program by ACCESS Health and Metlife Foundation, which aims to provide faster, and more accessible and affordable financing options for unmet healthcare needs. [1]https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-41264072
Dr. Krishna Reddy Addresses Concerns About Covid-19 Vaccines at Government of Telangana Webinar
Dr. Krishna Reddy Nallamalla, President of the InOrder Institute and the Country Director of ACCESS Health India, participated in an elite panel of experts at a webinar that addressed thousands of students and households across Telangana on the importance of Covid-19 vaccination and busted several myths around it. The public webinar was conducted by the Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge (TASK) of the Government of Telangana, along with the Confederation of Indian Industries. TASK is a non-profit organization created under the Department of Information Technology, Electronics, and Communications for bringing synergy among government institutions, industry, and academia towards offering quality human resources and services to the industry. Apart from Dr Reddy, other panelists included Dr. Rakesh K Mishra, Advisor and Former Director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Dr. GVJA Harshavardhan, Director of Viral Vaccines and International Affairs, Bharat Biotech International Ltd and Dr Suneetha Narredy, Head of Infectious Diseases Department at the Apollo Hospitals. The session was moderated by Mr. Shrikant Sinha, CEO of TASK and the keynote address was given by Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary of the Department of ITE&C. Some of the common questions addressed by the panel were around the need to get vaccinated, how Covid vaccines work, why Covid vaccines are a sustainable way of curbing the pandemic, who should get vaccinated, how much protection do vaccines guarantee, the best way to take the vaccine, the possibility of a third wave of Covid-19 hitting India and how governments and the public can be prepared for it. Among other points made byDr. Reddy, he highlighted the need for people across age groups to get vaccinated as soon as it is possible to do so. "Unless enough people are vaccinated and not getting infected and in turn not spreading infection to others, the population continues to be a risk of subsequent waves," Dr Reddy said. The session was telecast live on TASK's social media pages and on the TSAT Nipuna TV channel. The online sessions were attended by over a thousand people and through the TSAT channel, close to 5 lakh households were reached. Watch the entire webinar here.
APACMed China Health Dialogue: Report on Diagnosis-Related Group to Support Innovation
In May 2021, APACMed launched a monthly, health-focused dialogue for members and partners in the region, providing key insights on the medtech industry in China. Dr. Chang Liu, Regional Director of ASK Health, participated in the kick-off webinar as a keynote speaker. In the first monthly session, the speakers discussed the Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG), a topical focus launched by China's National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) in 2019, which is currently being piloted across thirty Chinese cities and will reportedly be nationally implemented by the end of 2021. During the webinar, Dr. Chang Liu introduced the report Practical Research on DRG Payment, which was published by China Medical Information and Big Data Association, China United Network Communications Group, ASK Health, and VCBeat. Dr. Liu gave some suggestions on how pharmaceutical companies could respond to the DRG reform. Read the Chinese language report summary here: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/zcrVpw1jE9zqT8vEOVBlWQ).
Second Fintech Session of PHBS-CJBS Global Pitch Competition
On May 11th, the 2nd FinTech Session of PHBS-CJBS Global Pitch Competition, co-organized by Peking University HSBC Business School (PHBS) and Cambridge Judge Business School (CJBS) and supported by ASK Health, concluded successfully. The 8th session of the competition focused on fintech. The competition committee pre-selected four projects from all the global candidates to compete online, two of which, Ju'en Tech and Nuoyi Cloud Computing, won the pitch. ASK Health has been supporting the Global Pitch Competition from the very beginning. We hope to continue to support rising innovators, to help build a bridge for global fintech projects and the industry, as well as to attract more capital to technology, innovation, and business entrepreneurship.
Report Release: Role of China’s Private Sector in the Healthcare Industry Across the Belt and Road Countries
In collaboration with the Global Health Center of Sun-Yat-Sen University, ASK Health carried out a research on The Role of China’s Private Sector in the Healthcare Industry Across the Belt and Road Countries – Industry Actions, Trends and Policy Recommendations. Through qualitative and quantitative research analysis, the report offers a comprehensive view of China's health aid and industry investment in these countries, such as medical equipment and healthcare services. With case analysis on successes and challenges, the research aims to provide a fundamental basis for future public health research across the Belt and Road countries. The report is now officially published by the Global Health Center of Sun-Yat-Sen University and ASK Health. There are eight sections in total. We have selected seven developing countries (Kenya, Nigeria, Angora, Mozambique, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Nepal) and analyzed the healthcare systems in the respective countries. The last section includes policy recommendations for the government on how to develop the Chinese private sector's business across the Belt and Road countries in the future. Click here to read the Chinese language report (up to Angora):https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/8aKu7XJ4u84aY6tAWihV7w
Fintech Should Be Used to Increase Cancer Screening
Fintech, or financial technology, can and should be used to increase cancer screening in the Malaysian population. Fintech is a powerful platform that can transform our lives in many ways, even save lives by increasing the prevalence of cancer screnings. In Malaysia, the government has been very proactive and forward-thinking when it comes to pushing for the adoption, adaptation, and expansion of fintech products among Malaysians. The ePenjana cashless payment initiative, issued by the government of Malaysia, is just one example of the way the government has expedited the adoption of digital wallets among Malaysians. The cashless initiative benefited up to 15 million Malaysians who are now using a multitude of e-wallet platforms. Please click here to read more.
How Fintech for Health Partnerships Improve Access to Affordable Healthcare for Hospital Workers in India
Amogha is a nurse in the CARE Cardiac Center at Durgabhai Deshmukh Hospital. She is cheerful, kind, and empathetic, well-liked by all her patients. However, her patients do not realize that Amogha is responsible for family members with multiple illnesses and experiences much of the same pain and stress felt by her patients. Unable to continue to pay for her family's health expenses, Amogha believes she is out of options. This is the case with many frontline healthcare workers in India. Six hundred million Indians - almost half the country's population - are categorized as middle-class. The lower-middle-class lives on $2-$4 per person per day while the upper-middle-class lives on $6-10 per person per day. Many lower-middle-income workers are unaware of and have limited access to suitable health financing options. As more Indians move from the lower to middle class, it is even more important for them to have options to save and pay for their healthcare services, as even just one unexpected health event can plunge them back into the cycle of poverty. Please click here to read more.
Online Event on Evidence-Based Research in Philippine Public Health Policy
On 29 April, an online dissemination event on Exploring Philippine Use of Evidence-Based Research to Influence Public Health Policy was held. This event represents the culmination of research performed under a grant awarded by the New Delhi-based Global Development Network, which aims to enhance research capabilities of developing countries in improving development outcomes. ACCESS Health won first prize during the 2019 awards competition for Outstanding Research in Development held in Bonn, Germany-only the second Philippine entrant to win the prestigious prize in its twenty-year history. This grant concerns policymaker reception of evidence-based research presented by health advocates and researchers during deliberations of four much-discussed policies on reproductive health, dengue vaccination, universal health care, and lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility. Representatives from academia, civil society, and government were given an overview of this research's findings. The Philippine health policy environment differs substantially from those of developed countries where most studies on translating research into policy is done, and the practical goal here is to suggest techniques for improving persuasiveness while presenting evidence-based research. Audience interest was high during the event, and our intent is to solicit additional feedback to refine findings in the interest of improving the collection and presentation of research-based evidence leading to health-positive policies. Please click here to read more.