Speaking with Ali Sheneamer, Chief Business Development Officer for Bupa Arabia, at the Global Health Exhibition 2025 in Riyadh, one quickly realises that the conversation transcends the typical insurance discussion. While Bupa is globally recognised as a group with a vast international footprint (operating in over 190 countries and owning 20 hospitals and 400 clinics) I learned about a hyper-focused, vertically integrated strategy within Saudi Arabia that could serve as a powerful blueprint for the future of regional health and even beyond.

The implications for the Kingdom’s healthcare landscape are profound, and while Sheneamer explicitly stated his focus is on their existing customers, the underlying mechanism being built has, be it only indirectly, an unavoidable resonance for health and medical tourism.

The Payer Pivot: A Proactive Health Partner

Sheneamer’s core message was a radical shift from the traditional insurance role. Bupa Arabia, through its healthcare provision arm, Bupa Care Connect, is moving aggressively to manage health, not just pay for sickness.

The driving force is economic sustainability and clinical necessity. As Sheneamer revealed, chronic conditions - while only representing a small percentage of the population - “consume more than 52% of the healthcare cost.” This is where their strategy is concentrated.

One should note that this is not only limited to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but rather a phenomenon we see in most large markets.

The model begins with a digital-first approach. He described the initial phase of Care Connect:

Crucially, he noted their ultimate goal: “Ideally, you don’t want them to go to the physical clinics if you manage them remotely properly”. This statement confirms Saudi Arabia’s commitment to solving access and congestion through innovation, not merely by adding beds. In my experience, a large part of our healthcare professionals' work is spent on fighting the consequences a lack of health management has caused in the first place. And shifting the priorities, voiding the necessity of a physical visit, certainly makes sense.

The Open Network Orchestration

Bupa Arabia is not attempting to become a fully closed system provider like Kaiser Permanente, as Sheneamer clarified. Instead, they are building an “open network that is being orchestrated through Bupa Care Connect”.

This strategic choice focuses Bupa’s direct investment where it matters most: the patient journey and outpatient care, which Sheneamer noted accounts for a massive “97% of the incidents”.

For the remaining 3% - the complex surgeries and admissions - Bupa uses its expertise to guide patients, saying:

This orchestration model - direct digital management for the masses, and expertly curated referrals for the complex - is the intellectual property that is truly redefining the Saudi healthcare landscape. And it's less the novelty of the concept that impresses me; in fact, it is the ambition of many healthcare markets. What left me deeply impressed is the decisiveness and goal-orientedness with which Sheneamer and his colleagues pursue this strategy.

Drawing Conclusions for Health and Medical Tourism

When discussing medical tourism, Sheneamer was unambiguous: “My focus is to manage the health of my customers… I’m not in the business of being a standalone health provider”.

If my tenure in the medical tourism industry has taught me one thing, it is this: Becoming a destination for medical tourism without having your own house in order is an exercise in futility. And to me it sounds like the Saudi priorities are set correctly.

While he disavows the standalone medical tourism provider role, his statements provide three undeniable conclusions for the regional industry:

1. The Domestic Base is the Prerequisite

The Kingdom’s path to becoming a medical tourism destination must first rely on solving its domestic challenges. By tackling the 52% cost problem of chronic care and deploying the “clinic in your pocket” to manage 97% of patient incidents, Bupa Arabia is essentially creating the world-class digital health infrastructure that makes a future medical tourism offering viable. You cannot attract international patients without a digitally advanced, efficient, and quality-controlled local system.

2. Continuity of Care is the New Differentiator

For a medical tourist, the most significant pain point is the fragmented care before arrival and after return. Bupa’s integrated model solves this. Their ability to manage a patient's health remotely, dispense medication, and facilitate lab tests at home means they have the digital scaffolding necessary to manage an international patient before they board the plane and after they return home. This is the definition of "Health Tourism"—managing the journey, not just the procedure.

3. Global Trust, Local Delivery

Sheneamer highlighted their ability to send Saudi patients abroad for treatment, cementing their status as both “local and international at the same time”. This dual identity - a listed Saudi company backed by a global giant operating in over 190 countries - is a stamp of assurance for international patients. When Bupa’s orchestrated network directs a patient to a local “centre of excellence”, international markets will trust that judgement.

The energy at the Global Health Exhibition 2025, which Sheneamer noted was a crucial chance to “form partnerships with lots of partners within the health ecosystem”, confirms that Saudi Arabia views digital integration not as an option, but as the foundation of its Vision 2030 ambitions. Bupa Arabia is not merely observing this transformation; it is one of the strategic architects, building a new, digitally integrated reality that will inevitably attract global attention.