TMTPOST — Ant Group’s Ant Health unit has acquired domestic mid- to high-end medical-services provider Fengshi Health, the company announced Tuesday. The deal aims to strengthen one-stop direct-payment experiences that combine basic medical insurance with commercial health insurance. Fengshi Health operates a commercial-insurance direct-settlement network covering more than 1,500 private hospitals and international or special-needs departments of public hospitals, allowing patients to settle bills via face recognition or QR codes without out-of-pocket payment or subsequent claims. Ant Health already provides synchronized medical-plus-commercial insurance settlement at public hospitals through the Alipay and Ant Afu apps. Integrating Fengshi’s capabilities will extend coverage to mid- and high-end facilities and is expected to broaden services for commercial-insurance users while giving insurers greater product differentiation. The acquisition follows Ant Health’s earlier investment in weight-management platform Bohe Health in July.