China's First Hospital Founded By Insurance Company Opens

JINAN -- China's first hospital founded by an insurance firm, in cooperation with local government, opened on Sunday, creating a new model for health care.

Approved by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, the Sunshine Union Hospital opened in Weifang City in east China's Shandong Province.

The Sunshine Insurance Group invested 3 billion yuan ($461 million) to set up the hospital in cooperation with the city government.

Zhang Weigong, chair of the insurance firm, said at the opening ceremony that the hospital will experiment with introducing commercial medical insurance in hospital fee payment, allowing people better access to medical services.

The class A hospital, on par with all major hospitals in big Chinese cities such as Beijing and Tianjin, covers 63 hectares of land and can accommodate up to 2,000 inpatients.