Manulife Asia, Ant Health eye connected care in Hong Kong

Manulife Asia and Ant Health have signed a memorandum of understanding on connected healthcare services, starting in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland.

They will explore ways to help customers find, access and pay for healthcare more easily. The framework covers health management services, cross-boundary healthcare support, digital health initiatives and insurance technology.

The arrangement addresses a common challenge for patients seeking treatment across borders, who often have to handle separate enquiries and coordinate different steps themselves before, during and after treatment.

Initial work will focus on Manulife customers in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. While the memorandum has regional scope, the companies intend to assess whether the model could later be extended to other Asian markets.

Areas covered

Under the memorandum, the two sides will examine health management services for Manulife customers in the first two markets, including possible case management, concierge support, medical network services and patient services.

They will also explore insurance technology linked to healthcare use, including health value-added services, design support, and support for cross-boundary claims and payments.

Other potential areas may be added by mutual agreement, including health insights, industry research and standards.

The deal brings together a large insurer and a digital health platform with a broad user base in the Chinese mainland. Manulife serves more than 37 million customers across 25 markets globally, while Ant Health says more than 800 million users have linked their national medical insurance e-certificates to its platform.

Manulife operates across Canada and Asia under its own brand and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. The group provides financial advice, insurance and health products to individuals, groups and businesses, alongside investment and retirement plan services through its wealth and asset management arm.

Ant Health began with online hospital appointment booking and payment services for patients in the Chinese mainland. Its Hong Kong entity, AHA Healthcare Technology HK Limited, is the party to the memorandum with Manulife Asia.

Cross-boundary focus

The partnership targets a healthcare journey that can be difficult for customers who live in one market and seek treatment in another. In the Greater Bay Area in particular, cross-boundary movement has increased demand for services that connect insurers, healthcare providers and payment systems more directly.

This creates practical questions around access, administration and bill settlement. By setting out a framework rather than launching a final commercial offering, the memorandum gives the companies room to test which services are most useful in the first two markets.

For Manulife, the move fits a broader push in Asia to link insurance more closely with healthcare use and longer-term health management. For Ant Health, it extends efforts to build services around medical access and payments into a closer relationship with an insurer serving customers on both sides of the border.

Steve Finch commented on the agreement and its customer focus. "This collaboration reflects a shared belief that access to healthcare should be simpler, more connected and centred around the needs of customers. By combining our respective strengths, we will explore how to create a more seamless healthcare journey for customers," said Steve Finch, President & CEO of Manulife Asia.

 "At Manulife, we believe better access to healthcare is fundamental to improving long-term health outcomes and supports our goals to help customers enjoy better health and greater independence throughout their lives," he added.

Ant Health's parent group also framed the agreement around changing consumer expectations in medical services.

"The integration of health insurance and health services has become a major trend in enhancing users' medical service experience and improving their overall health and well-being. Through this collaboration with Manulife Asia, we look forward to exploring more convenient and compassionate cross-boundary health services for customers, advancing our long-term vision of 'making healthcare simpler and lives healthier', and contributing to the development of a 'Healthy Greater Bay Area'," said Zhang Junjie, Vice President of Ant Group and Head of the Health Business.