Evaluation of the enrolment of health insurance after the integration between the New Cooperative Medical Scheme and the Urban Residents Basic Medical Insurance scheme in Hangzhou, China: a longitudinal study

The Lancet ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 392 ◽  
pp. S27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenhui Mao ◽  
Luying Zhang ◽  
Min Hu ◽  
Wen Chen
Author(s):  
Xinpeng Xu ◽  
Hai Gu ◽  
Hua You ◽  
Lan Bai ◽  
Decheng Li ◽  
...  

This study investigated associations between different types of medical insurance and the incidence of catastrophic health expenditure among middle-aged and the aged in China. The data came from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey implemented in 2013, with 9782 individuals analyzed. Probit regression models and multiple linear regressions were employed to explore the relationship mentioned above and potential mechanisms behind it. It was found that compared with participants in Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance, individuals participating in New Cooperative Medical Scheme and Coordinating Urban and Rural Basic Medical Insurance was less likely to undergo catastrophic health expenditure ( P < .001, P = .008), especially for low-income and middle-income group. Participants in New Cooperative Medical Scheme and Coordinating Urban and Rural Basic Medical Insurance were more likely to utilize inpatient medical service ( P < .001, P = .020) and choose low-level medical institutions for treatment ( P = .003, P = .006). And individuals participating in New Cooperative Medical Scheme had lower out-of-pocket expenditure ( P = .034). The study showed the significant difference in the incidence of catastrophic health expenditure among participants in different medical insurances. Efforts should be made to improve the service quality of grassroots medical institutions except for the increase of reimbursement ratio, so that rural residents can enjoy high-quality medical services.


2017 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 479-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xing Lin Feng

Policy makers in China are considering consolidating the country’s fragmented health insurance programs. This system consists of three components. The Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) covers formal employees, the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) covers rural residents, and the Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance (URBMI) covers urban residents. Consolidation could, in theory, create a more efficient health system that is better able to address noncommunicable diseases. Using national survey data during 2011 to 2013, I found that 44% to 76% cases of hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia went undiagnosed among Chinese adults aged 45 and older. I found that the UEBMI enrollees had a greater number of health checks and 10% higher rates of diagnosis. Assuming that this level of efficiency would be possible under an integrated system, I conducted microsimulation analyses to project future benefits. Such consolidation could result in 46.2 million new diagnoses, and 30.0 million of these cases would be controlled.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong yang ◽  
Xiaowei Man ◽  
Shuo Li ◽  
Qian Bai ◽  
Peiwen Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background As one major disease threatening human health, stroke has placed a heavy financial burden on patients worldwide. This study aims to confirm whether there are disparities and inequity in the utilization of inpatient health services for stroke inpatients covered by different health insurance schemes. Methods We conducted statistical analysis based on the data containing urban employee-based basic medical insurance scheme (UEBMI) and urban resident-based basic medical insurance scheme (URBMI) groups, supplied by the China Health Insurance Research Association (CHIRA). Descriptive analysis was the main method to finish this analysis. Results Of the 56485 inpatients who had been diagnosed with ischemic stroke, extracted from the CHIRA claimed database, 64.6% (36487) were covered by UEBMI and 35.4% (19998) were covered by URBMI; the mean age of UEBMI subgroup was slightly older than URBMI subgroup (68.64 and 67.45 years old). The annual frequency of hospitalization of UEBMI subgroup was 1.21 times and 1.15 times for URBMI subgroup. The average length of stay of UEBMI subgroup(13.93days) was longer than URBMI subgroup (10.82 days). The UEBMI group had a higher hospitalization costs but fewer out-of-pocket costs: for the UEBMI subgroup, the average hospitalization cost was RMB11187.64($1724.02), the average total out-of-pocket costs was RMB2646.42($407.81). While for the URBMI subgroup, the average hospitalization cost was RMB6402.27($986.59) and the average total out-of-pocket costs was RMB2746.10($423.17). All the above differences were significant(P<0.001). Meanwhile, patients with UEBMI had higher reimbursement rate (82.65% and 63.82%). Conclusions We found that there were nonnegligible disparities in the utilization of inpatient health services between UEBMI and URBMI as well as health inequity and financial protection inequity. Thus, our results call for a systemic strategy to improve the fragmented social health insurance system and narrow the gap in health insurance schemes in China.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Yang ◽  
Xiaowei Man ◽  
Stephen Nicholas ◽  
Shuo Li ◽  
Qian Bai ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: As the second most common cause of death globally, strokes impose a significant financial burden on patients and a country’s health system. This study demonstrates the disparities in the utilization of inpatient health services for stroke patients covered by different urban basic health insurance schemes in China.Methods: We conducted statistical analysis based on the data containing urban employee-based basic medical insurance scheme (UEBMI) and urban resident-based basic medical insurance scheme (URBMI) groups, supplied by the China Health Insurance Research Association (CHIRA). Descriptive analysis was the main method to finish this study.Results: Of the inpatients (N=56485) who had been diagnosed with ischemic stroke, extracted from the CHIRA claimed database, 64.6% (36487) were covered by UEBMI and 35.4% (19998) were covered by URBMI. The annual frequency of hospitalization of UEBMI subgroup was 1.21 times and 1.15 times for URBMI subgroup. The average length of stay of UEBMI subgroup(13.93days) was longer than URBMI subgroup (10.82 days). The UEBMI group had higher hospitalization costs but fewer out-of-pocket costs: for the UEBMI subgroup, the average hospitalization cost was RMB11187.64($1724.02), the average total out-of-pocket costs was RMB2646.42($407.81). While for the URBMI subgroup, the average hospitalization cost was RMB6402.27($986.59) and the average total out-of-pocket costs was RMB2746.10($423.17). All the above differences were significant(P<0.001). Meanwhile, patients with UEBMI had higher reimbursement rate (82.65% and 63.82%) and lower self-paid ratio (23.65% and 42.89%).Conclusions: We found that there were nonnegligible disparities in the utilization of inpatient health services between UEBMI and URBMI. Thus, our results call for a systemic strategy to improve the fragmented social health insurance system and narrow the gap in health insurance schemes in China.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. e038051
Author(s):  
Jinsong Geng ◽  
Xiaowei Chen ◽  
Haini Bao ◽  
Danmin Qian ◽  
Yuting Shao ◽  
...  

ObjectivesOur study aimed to inform insurance decision-making in China by investigating patients’ preferences for insurance coverage of new technologies for treating chronic diseases.DesignWe identified six attributes of new medical technologies for treating chronic diseases and used Bayesian-efficient design to generate choice sets for a discrete choice experiment (DCE). After conducting the DCE, we analysed the data by mixed logit regression to examine patient-reported preferences for each attribute.SettingThe DCE was conducted with patients in six tertiary hospitals from four cities in Jiangsu province.ParticipantsPatients aged 18 years or older with a history of diabetes or hypertension and taking medications regularly for more than 1 year were recruited (n=408).ResultsThe technology attributes regarding expected gains in health outcomes from the treatment, high likelihood of effective treatment and low incidence of serious adverse events were significant, positive predictors of choice by the study patients (p<0.01). The out-of-pocket cost was a significant, negative attribute for the entire study sample (β = −0.258, p<0.01) and for the patients with Urban-Rural Residents Basic Medical Insurance (URRBMI) (β = −0.511, p<0.01), but not for all the patients with Urban Employees Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) (β = −0.071, p>0.05). The severity of target disease was valued by patients with lower EQ-5D-5L index value as well as URRBMI enrollees.ConclusionsPatients highly valued the health benefits and risks of new technologies, which were closely linked to their feelings of disease and perceptions of health-related quality of life. However, there existed heterogeneity in preferences between URRBMI and UEBMI patients. Further efforts should be made to reduce the gap between insurance schemes and make safe and cost-effective new technologies as a priority for health insurance reimbursement.


Author(s):  
Jianyun Wang ◽  
Yaolin Pei ◽  
Renyao Zhong ◽  
Bei Wu

This study aimed to examine the association between health insurance, city of residence, and outpatient visits among older adults living alone in China. A sample of 3173 individuals was derived from “Survey on Older Adults Aged 70 and Above Living Alone in Urban China” in five different cities. Logistic regression models indicated that older adults living alone who had urban employee basic medical insurance, urban resident basic medical insurance, and public medical insurance were more likely to have outpatient visits than those without any health insurance. After controlling the number of chronic diseases, only those with public medical insurance were more likely to have outpatient visits than uninsured older adults. Additionally, older adults who resided in Shanghai and Guangzhou were more likely to have outpatient visits than those in Chengdu, whereas older adults who were in Dalian and Hohhot were less likely to have outpatient visits. To improve the equity of outpatient visits among older adults living alone in China, policy efforts should be made to reduce fragmentation of different health insurance plans, expand the health insurance coverage for older adults, provide programs that consider the needs of this special group of older adults, and reduce the inequality in health resources and health insurance policies across cities.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 746-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yen-Han Lee ◽  
Timothy Chiang ◽  
Mack Shelley ◽  
Ching-Ti Liu

Purpose The Chinese society has embraced rapid social reforms since the late twentieth century, including educational and healthcare systems. The Chinese Central Government launched an ambitious health reform program in 2009 to improve service quality and provide affordable health services, regardless of individual socio-economic status. Currently, the Chinese social health insurance includes Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance, Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance, and New Cooperative Medical Insurance for rural residents. The purpose of this paper is to measure the association between individual education level and China’s social health insurance scheme following the reform. Design/methodology/approach Using the latest (2011) China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) data and multivariable logistic regression models with cross-sectional design (n=11,960), the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) are reported. Findings The authors found that education is associated with all social health insurance schemes in China after the reform (p<0.001). Residents with higher educational attainments, such as technical school (OR: 6.64, 95% CI: 5.44–8.13) or university and above (OR: 9.86, 95% CI: 8.14–11.96), are associated with UEBMI, compared with lower-educated individuals. Practical implications The Chinese Central Government announced a plan to combine all social health insurance schemes by 2020, except UEBMI, a plan with the most comprehensive financial package. Further research is needed to investigate potential disparities after unification. Policy makers should continue to evaluate China’s universal health coverage and social disparity. Originality/value This study is the first to investigate the association between residents’ educational attainment and three social health insurance schemes following the 2009 health reform. The authors suggest that educational attainment is still associated with each social health insurance coverage after the ambitious health reform.


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