New Health Care Reform and Impoverishment among Chronic Households in China: A Random-Intercept Approach

Yongjian Xu, Anupam Garrib, Zhongliang Zhou, Duolao Wang, Jianmin Gao, Xiaowei Yang, Xiaojing Fan and Gang Chen
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Yongjian Xu: School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Anupam Garrib: Department of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK
Zhongliang Zhou: School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Duolao Wang: Department of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK
Jianmin Gao: School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Xiaowei Yang: School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Xiaojing Fan: Department of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK
Gang Chen: Centre for Health Economics, Monash Business School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 6, 1-13

Abstract: High out-of-pocket (OOP) payments for chronic disease care often contribute directly to household poverty. Although previous studies have explored the determinants of impoverishment in China, few published studies have compared levels of impoverishment before and after the New Health Care Reform (NHCR) in households with members with chronic diseases (hereafter referred to as chronic households). Our study explored this using data from the fourth and fifth National Health Service Surveys conducted in Shaanxi Province. In total, 1938 households in 2008 and 7700 households in 2013 were included in the analysis. Rates of impoverishment were measured using a method proposed by the World Health Organization. Multilevel logistic modeling was used to explore the influence of the NHCR on household impoverishment. Our study found that the influence of NHCR on impoverishment varied by residential location. After the reform, in rural areas, there was a significant decline in impoverishment, although the impoverishment rate remained high. There was little change in urban areas. In addition, impoverishment in the poorest households did not decline after the NHCR. Our findings are important for policy makers in particular for evaluating reform effectiveness, informing directions for health policy improvement, and highlighting achievements in the efforts to alleviate the economic burden of households that have members with chronic diseases.

Keywords: China; new health care reform; impoverishment; chronic diseases; out-of-pocket expenditure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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