Collaborative governance to manage risks in inclusive health insurance: a case study of Huimin Bao in China

Can private health insurance ensure equal access to healthcare for individuals and offer generous benefits at an affordable price? The conventional answer is no. But in the case of Huimin Bao, an inclusive commercial health insurance scheme in China, this is now possible due to the collaborative governance between the local governments and insurance companies. This kind of collaboration is acting as an innovative solution to deal with the risks that Huimin Bao is facing. In practice, their collaboration covers various dimensions. These range from instances where the local governments only provide support for the collaboration, to instances where they guide, promote, and even lead the collaboration. We argue that if government intervention is designed to promote rather than stifle private insurers’ self-protection and innovation, collaborative governance in Huimin Bao may better reconcile public policy aims with economic goals. Nevertheless, the utilization of such innovative governance instruments may still face potential risks arising from alignment of interests, distortion of market competition, and regulatory oversight, undermining the solvency and sustainability of Huimin Bao.