Southeast Asia shouldn't copy the U.S. healthcare model, says Walgreens Boots Alliance's APAC head

Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) APAC president Li Zhong said Southeast Asia should not copy the U.S. healthcare model, despite the U.S. spending about 17% of GDP (roughly $5.6 trillion). Speaking at Fortune’s Southeast Asia 500 Summit in Ho Chi Minh City on Nov. 3, Li argued that advanced therapies can save lives but the system is “not very healthy,” citing a shorter healthspan in Americans compared with Vietnam, which spends 4.6% of GDP on health. With rising costs and specialist shortages, he said each country needs its own route. The article cites specialist ratios—about 0.2 per 1,000 in Indonesia, 0.5 in Malaysia and Thailand, and 1.2 in Singapore. It points to community-based primary care networks, pharmacies expanding roles via programs like the UK’s NHS Pharmacy First, and public-private partnerships supported by technology such as AI.