Smartphone giant Xiaomi enters China’s online mutual aid industry with new health care platform
- The platform called Xiaomi Huzhu will be available from June 15 on the mainland
- Subscribers to online mutual aid platforms in China are expected to reach 450 million by 2025
The platform called Xiaomi Huzhu is now open for preregistration on the mainland, according to a company announcement. This business is run by Xiaomi Finance, the smartphone vendor’s financial technology arm, which will make the platform available from its app and official WeChat account from next Monday.
People can join the platform with no up-front fee and claim up to 500,000 yuan (US$70,647) for critical illnesses, including 82 major diseases and 10 serious ailments specific to children. Members also receive round-the-clock, real-time online medical consultation seven days a week, according to a Xiaomi statement.
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A spokeswoman for Hong Kong-listed Xiaomi, the world’s fourth largest smartphone vendor, had no further comment on Tuesday when asked how this operation would contribute to the company’s internet services business segment.
Subscribers to online mutual aid platforms in China are expected to reach 450 million by 2025, according to a white paper released by Alipay operator Ant Financial Services in May.
Mutual aid platforms, which operate as a collective claim-sharing mechanism that offer basic health plans to assist those facing critical illnesses, are popular among China’s low- and middle-income households in rural areas, where there is often a lack of quality hospitals and affordable medical care.