Impact of the New Cooperative Medical Scheme on Health Care Service Utilization in Rural China

Using the 2000, 2004, and 2006 CHNS longitudinal survey data and econometric methods （random-effect probit regression model and DID methods）, this study conducted an empirical analysis to estimate the impact of NCMS. The major conclusions are as follows. First, predisposing factors, enabling factors, health care need factors, and lifestyle factors affect health care utilization. Second, results using DID methods indicate that NCMS did not affect health care service utilization （outpatient and inpatient） of individuals when ill, but it might increase the possibility of getting a health examination. Third, there is no difference in health care service utilization （both outpatient and inpatient） between the NCMS enrollment group and the non-enrollment group in both working age group （15-59） and the elderly group （60 and over）. Therefore, it can be said that NCMS did not affect the health care utilization in both the group. However, NCMS positively affects disease prevention behavior （visiting the hospital to receive a health examination） in the working age group, but the effect did not appear in the elderly group.

The impact of the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme on the“health poverty alleviation”of rural households in China

This study investigates the impact of the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme(NRCMS)on rural households to escape poverty.We employ the instrumental variable method,the IVProbit model,to analyze the national data from the rural-resident field survey by the China Family Panel Studies(CFPS)in 2016.Based on the large-scale data,we found that,first,the hospitalization of family members is the key factor in increasing the risk of the family falling into poverty.The NRCMS has significantly reduced the likely risk of falling into poverty.Second,the impact of the NRCMS on poverty alleviation varies among groups with different levels of income.There is no impact on the upper-middle and high-income groups;in contrast,the NRCMS has substantially improved the capacity of low-income rural families to prevent poverty due to illness,especially for the lower-middle-income group.Third,there exist significant regional differences in the impact of NRCMS on the health poverty alleviation of rural households in China.The NRCMS has successfully reduced the risk of rural households in the western region falling into poverty,simultaneously,no significant impact on those in the eastern and central regions.In order to diminish and eliminate poverty eventually and boost rural residents'capacity for income acquisition,we propose the following:raise the actual compensation ratio of the NRCMS,control the rising expense of NRCMS by promoting the payment method reform,construct the comprehensive healthcare system in the western region,strengthen the medical security for the poor in remote area,and enhance the living environment for rural residents.

Government Responsibility in New Rural Cooperative Medical Care System from the Perspective of Equity and Efficiency

Equity and efficiency,as two essential parts of social security,always influence construction of China's new rural cooperative medical care system.The new rural cooperative medical care system is a rural social security system particularly intended to make it more affordable for the rural poor.It is a multi-channel fundraising system with fund of comprehensive arrangement for serious disease composed by the government,collectives and individuals.Since its implementation,it has made considerable achievements,but there are still many apparent and hidden problems.Through analyzing existing problems in the implementation of new rural cooperative medical care system,from the perspective of equity and efficiency,it reached the conclusion that government should take corresponding responsibilities.At the same time of constantly increasing efficiency,it is recommended to attach importance to the equity,so as to realize the objective of improving the security level of new rural cooperative medical care system.

The New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme and Its Implications on Rural Labor Migration in China：Evidence from Longitudinal Surveys

In 2003, China initiated the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme （NRCMS） in order to provide basic health care coverage for the rural population. However, the NRCMS has had a marked impact on rural-urban labor migration as its current regulations present a barrier for cross-region participation in the NRCMS, and its reimbursement system is biased when the enrollees seek medical services outside their location of hukou, a household registration system in China. This paper performs a variety of empirical tests on a panel data set from the China Health and Nutrition Survey （CHNS） to study how the NRCMS affects rural residents＇ work location choices. We observed a ＂locking effect＂ on potential rural migrant workers and a ＂pulling effect＂ on existing ones. According to the results, the NRCMS has discouraged rural residents from working outside their location of hukou, lowering the probability of relocation by 3.52 percent. Meanwhile, the NRCMS system actually encourages existing migrant workers to return home. This paper concludes that the NRCMS has to some extent restrained the free flow of the labor force and exacerbated the migrant worker shortage.

Issues concerning Migrant Workers' Participation in the New Rural Cooperative Medical System and Countermeasures——Based on the Survey in Wenjiang District and Jintang County, Chengdu City

We conduct questionnaire survey of migrant workers in Wenjiang District and Jintang County of Chengdu City,respectively,using the method of key-point investigation and the sampling survey. We describe the status quo of the sample migrant workers' participation in the New Rural Cooperative Medical System,analyze the issues concerning migrant workers' participation in the New Rural Cooperative Medical System,and put forward the countermeasures and recommendations as follows: using many types of medical insurance; establishing universal reimbursement points in strange land and premium-paying system for migrant workers; making the proportion of reimbursement open and transparent; establishing and improving medicare security system for migrant workers.

Optimized Reimbursement Scheme of China's New Cooperative Medical System Using Monte Carlo Simulation

China＇s Rural Cooperative Medical System collapsed alongside communal farming at the end of the Maoist period in 1976, leaving most farmers vulnerable[1]. In rural areas, where 80% of people have been without health insurance of any kind, illness has emerged as a leading cause of poverty[24]. To address the poor state of health care among the rural population, in 2003 the Chinese government launched the New Rural Cooperative Medical System （NCMS）,

The impact of the New Cooperative Medical Scheme in Sangzhi County,Hunan Province

In August 2011,the Sangzhi County government,Hunan Province,adopted a series of new health care policies as a national pilot of the New Cooperative Medical Scheme(referred to as 2011 NCMS).These policies were designed to further resolve illness-led poverty and the poor state of health care in the local area.The program had a positive impact and spread to other regions in Hunan Province.This paper will discuss the progress made as a result of the policies and several issues that challenge the scheme in practice.A total sample of 1212 individuals and 303 households were included in the analysis,and98 interviews were conducted with people related to the scheme.Our major findings indicate that the 201!NCMS has significantly reduced the out-of-pocket medical payment of rural residents,and also increased the township hospitals'patient flow.However,the medical scheme still faces many challenging issues during the implementation.With the increasing interest among the Chinese policy makers in strengthening and promoting the Sangzhi Model,the impacts of the scheme deserve greater attention in practice so as to further improve NCMS in rural China.

Identification of Factors Influencing Out-of-county Hospitalizations in the New Cooperative Medical Scheme

Summary:Throughout the duration of the New Cooperative Medical Scheme(NCMS),it was found that an increasing number of rural patients were seeking out-of^county medical treatment,which posed a great burden on the NCMS fund.Our study was conducted to examine the prevalence of out-of^county hospitalizations and its related factors,and to provide a scientific basis for follow?up health insurance policies.A total of 215 counties in central and western China from 2008 to 2016 were selected.The total out-of-county hospitalization rate in nine years was 16.95%,which increased from 12.37%in 2008 to 19.21%in 2016 with an average annual growth rate of 5.66%.Its related expenses and compensations were shown to increase each year,with those in the central region being higher than those in the western region.Stepwise logistic regression reveals that the increase in out-of-county hospitalization rate was associated with region(XI),rural population(X2),per capita per year net income(X3),per capita gross domestic product(GDP)(X4),per capita funding amount of NCMS(X5),compensation ratio of out-of^county hospitalization cost(X6),per time average in-county(X7)and out-of-county hospitalization cost(X8).According to Bayesian network(BN),the marginal probability of high out-of^county hospitalization rate was as high as 81.7%.Out-of^county hospitalizations were directly related to X8,X3,X4 and X6.The probability of high out-of-county hospitalization obtained based on hospitalization expenses factors,economy factors,regional characteristics and NCMS policy factors was 95.7%,91.1%,93.0% and 88.8%,respectively.And how these factors affect out-of-county hospitalization and their interrelationships were found out.Our findings suggest that more attention should be paid to the influence mechanism of these factors on out-of-county hospitalizations,and the increase of hospitalizations outside the county should be reasonably supervised and controlled and our results will be used to help guide the formulation of proper intervention policies.

Restraining Factors and Improving Paths for the Operation Mechanism of New Rural Cooperative Medical System in China

The new rural cooperative medical system has achieved periodical achievements since its establishment.Nevertheless,there are many factors hampering the development of the new system,such as the high cost,the difficulties in fund procurement,the lack of management,the narrow coverage of benefit,the ineffective constraint to the designated medical institutions,the high fund balance rate,and the poor medical facilities and services in rural areas.Countermeasures are put forward to solve these problems,including improving the system design,expanding the coverage of the system,expanding the fund sources,reducing the financing costs,strengthening the fund supervision,enhancing the supervision of designated medical institutions,and improving the capacity of health services in rural areas.

On Rural Medical Care and Health Undertaking Development during New Medical Reform

Based on in-depth survey of township hospitals in Lushan County of Henan Province, this paper studies the development situations of rural medical care and health undertaking in the course of new medical reform. Results show that both rural medical institution and public health undertaking have considerable development in this course. Working capital situation gradually turns better. However, there are still problems and challenge of shortage of high quality medical care personnel, lack of employment mechanism, poor medical environment, and imperfect bidding and purchasing system of medicines. To further develop rural medical situation, it should improve medical environment, speed up informationization construction, and give prominence to functional orientation.

城乡基本医疗保险制度实施对家庭消费的影响效应及作用机制

基于1988—2018年中国家庭收入调查数据,以城乡基本医疗保险制度实施为准自然实验,采用双重差分法考察了城镇基本医疗保险与新型农村合作医疗保险(即新农合)对家庭消费率的影响及其机制。结果显示:相较于未参保家庭,参加城镇医保的家庭消费率显著高出1.01%,但新农合的影响不显著;机制分析发现,城镇医保促进了参保家庭的总消费和分项消费支出,但新农合对消费支出无显著影响,同时,城镇医保和新农合对总收入和大部分分项收入无显著影响,这与基准回归结果一致;异质性分析表明,城镇医保更多地提升了中老年、非富裕、不健康群体,以及西部地区的家庭消费率。对此,应当充分发挥基本医疗保险制度对提振家庭消费率的积极作用,对“大水漫灌”式的财政补助应进行反思;改变基本医保“户保分离”“业保分离”的现状;加强针对特定人群的医保政策;注重提高参保青年和健康群体的获得感。

Effects of New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme on Medical Service Utilization and Medical Expense Control of Inpatients： A 3-year Empirical Study of Hainan Province in China

Background： The New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme （NCMS） has been further adjusted and optimized to reduce the financial burden of rural residents and to achieve universal coverage for them. In this study, we aimed to explore the impact of NCMS on medical service utilization and medical expense of inpatients in recent years. Methods： The research data of Hainan Province were extracted from the Chinese NCMS platform from 2012 to 2014. Detailed information included total expenditure, average inpatients costs, average out-of-pocket payments, actual reimbursement rate, and average annual growth rate of the above indicators. Descriptive analysis was used to gauge the effects of NCMS. Results： In the utilization of medical services, NCMS inpatients in tertiary hospital decreased from 25.49% in 2012 to 20.39% in 2014, inpatients in county hospitals increased from 39.49% to 55.92%, simultaneously. The total expenditure in county hospitals rose steadily from 28.46% to 46.66%, meanwhile, the total expenditure in tertiary hospitals fell from 60.44% to 44.51%.The average out-of-pocket costs of rural inpatients remained stable over the years. Furthermore, the compensation fund ofNCMS inpatients grew significantly. The actual inpatient reimbursement rate at township health centers increased from 76.93% to 84.04%. Meanwhile, the rate at county hospitals and tertiary hospitals increased slightly from 59.37% and 46.10% to 61.25% and 47.71%, respectively. Conclusions： With the improvement of the reimbursement ability, especially after the new health care reform in 2009, the NCMS have been playing a prominent role in alleviating the economic burden of farmers＇ medical treatment. Meanwhile, more patients go to primary hospitals than tertiary hospitals, and the capability of primary hospitals has been greatly improved.

大病保险、医疗服务升级与农民健康

“健康中国2030”规划纲要明确了健康对经济社会发展的重要作用,在新型农村合作医疗制度未能显著改善农民健康的背景下,研究农民健康水平的提升机制具有重要意义。本文聚焦2012年8月开始试点实施的城乡居民大病保险制度,基于2011—2015年中国健康与养老追踪调查(CHARLS)数据,以样本所在城市是否试点实施农村大病保险作为依据构造“农村大病保险”参保变量,运用计量模型实证检验农村大病保险对农民健康的影响效应及机制。实证结果显示,试点农村大病保险使农民自评健康显著提高0.08个单位,并且在对健康水平和农村大病保险等变量进行重新调整的情形下,实证结果依然稳健。异质性分析结果显示,农村大病保险对低收入群体的健康促进作用更大,并且对社区内有医疗点的群体影响效果更为显著。机制分析结果显示,对于需住院群体而言,农村大病保险通过促进农民做出住院决策进而改善了健康;而对于住院群体,农村大病保险通过促进农民选择级别更高的县区级医院进而改善了健康。为进一步提高农民健康水平,应丰富农村大病保险的筹资主体,引入个人缴费和财政补贴,在扩大大病保险基金规模的前提下,进一步提升大病保险待遇水平;同时,应改善农村基层医疗资源分配,提高农民基层医疗服务可及性和服务水平。

都市圈新城区乡村医疗服务中心地网络结构及其影响因素研究——以武汉市新城区为例

医疗服务是维护居民健康的重要保障。基于修正引力模型和社会网络分析法,分析武汉市6个新城区乡村医疗服务中心地空间网络结构及其影响因素。研究表明:(1)新城区乡村医疗服务中心地呈现网络结构,多中心层级化共存。医疗服务网络密度整体上处于初级阶段,总体关联度偏低,且大部分联系限于各区内部,整体节点聚集度较低。医疗服务中心地的网络非均衡性明显,形成了不同尺度的空间嵌套格局。(2)医疗服务中心地可分为6个子群,并呈现由内到外的圈层结构。6个子群的空间关联网络由北向南形成层次分明的板块,而且呈现出小团体现象。特别需要指出的是,子群的划分表现出鲜明的邻近指向特征,地理邻近关系对医疗服务中心地关联强度的影响比较明显。(3)空间邻近性、农业产值、第二产业企业注册资本、人口数量、城镇化水平、道路密度和交通可达性对新城区乡村医疗服务中心地空间关联网络强度的提高具有显著影响,而第三产业企业的影响并不显著。

病有所医、病无所恐:我国农村合作医疗制度发展历程、运行逻辑与未来进路

新中国成立70多年来,国家一直在探索如何更好地为农村人口供给可负担、高质量的医疗保障,在经历了从传统农村合作医疗到新型农村合作医疗的不间断探索后,形成了中国特色社会主义制度下的农民医疗保障全覆盖模式,这种连续性、从未间断的合作医疗形成了新中国治理变迁的独特经验,是形成国家发展的“中国奇迹”的一种基础保障力量。以历史变迁的长镜头观之,我国合作医疗历经了从“集体福利”“个体消费”“民生服务”走向基本公共服务均等化的实践轨迹,各个阶段都努力在现实需求与资源约束的矛盾运动下最大限度保证农民群众“人人看得起病”。为了在更高水平上保障农民“病有所医、病无所恐”,未来需要继续大力推动城乡居民基本医疗保障制度的一体化改革,扩展农民群众医保报销范围、降低个人承担份额,最终实现城乡居民人人享有健康权利的国家战略规划,迈向以人民为中心的社会主义“共同健康”之路。

Development of the New Rural Cooperative Medical System in China

Based on a survey conducted by our research team at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the present paper reports on the development of China＇s new rural cooperative medical system set up in late 2002. The new rural cooperative medical system is different from the old system in that it is organized, guided and supported by the government but that rural residents voluntarily participate in its administration. It is financed by individuals, collectives and the government. The new cooperative medical system focuses on serious disease planning and mutual aid and fraternily between rural residents in health care. The results of our survey indicate that the new rural medical system has been successful up to now but that it also has some problems. China needs to pay more attention to overcoming the difficulties and challenges it faces in terms of future medical needs so that a mechanism for its sustainable development can be established.

The impact of increased reimbursement rates under the new cooperative medical scheme on the financial burden of tuberculosis patients

Background:Tuberculosis(TB)is still a major public health problem in China.To scale up TB control,an innovative programme entitled the'China-Gates Foundation Collaboration on TB Control in China was initiated in 2009.During the second phase of the project,a policy of increased reimbursement rates under the New Cooperative Medical Scheme(NCMS)was implemented.In this paper,we aim to explore how this reform affects the financial burden on TB patients through comparison with baseline data.Methods:In two cross-sectional surveys,quantitative data were collected before(January 2010 to December 2012)and after(April 2014 to June 2015)the intervention in the existing NCMS routine data system.Information on all 313 TB inpatients,among which 117 inpatients in the project was collected.Qualitative data collection included 11 focus group discussions.Three main indicators,non-reimbursable expenses rate(NER),effective reimbursement rate(ERR),and out-of-pocket payment(OOP)as a percentage of per capita household income,were used to measure the impact of intervention by comprising post-intervention data with baseline data.The quantitative data were analysed by descriptive analysis and non-parametric tests(Mann-Whitney U test)using SPSS 22.0,and qualitative data were subjected to thematic framework analysis using NvivolO.Results:The nominal reimbursement rates for inpatient care were no less than 80%for services within the package.Total inpatient expenses greatly increased,with an average growth rate of 11.3%.For all TB inpatients,the ERR for inpatient care increased from 52 to 66%.Compared with inpatients outside the project,for inpatients covered by the new policy,the ERR was higher(78%),and OOP showed a sharper decline.In addition,their financial burden decreased significantly.Conclusions:Although the nominal reimbursement rates for inpatient care of TB patients greatly increased under the new reimbursement policy,inpatient OOP expenditure was still a major financial problem for patients.Limited diagnosis and treatment options in county general hospitals and inadequate implementation of the new policy resulted in higher inpatient expenditures and limited reimbursement.Comprehensive control models are needed to effeaively decrease the financial burden on all TB patients.

Health Insurance and Its Reimbursement Arrangements： Policy Evaluation on New Cooperative Medical System in Rural China

Disease has been one of the top reasons accounting for impoverishment in rural China. The government subsidizes health care through the New Cooperative Medical System since 2003 （ NCMS ）. The paper studies the effectiveness of various reimbursement arrangements in reducing the financial burden caused by health care in rural China. Using data from China Health and Nutrition Survey（CHNS） , it finds that the severity of illness, the type of illness, medical cost and other costs of the treatment are significantly influencing the choice of a type of treatment. Based on the estimated demand function, the paper concludes that the reimbursement for inmpatient care only has little effect on reducing the financial burden and the incidence of catastrophic expenditure and that expending subsidies to outpatient care is a more effective policy.