Disparity in reimbursement for tuberculosis care among different health insurance schemes: evidence from three counties in central China

Background:Health inequity is an important issue all around the world.The Chinese basic medical security system comprises three major insurance schemes,namely the Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance(UEBMI),the Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance(URBMI),and the New Cooperative Medical Scheme(NCMS).Little research has been conducted to look into the disparity in payments among the health insurance schemes in China.In this study,we aimed to evaluate the disparity in reimbursements for tuberculosis(TB)care among the abovementioned health insurance schemes.Methods:This study uses a World Health Organization(WHO)framework to analyze the disparities and equity relating to the three dimensions of health insurance:population coverage,the range of services covered,and the extent to which costs are covered.Each of the health insurance scheme’s policies were categorized and analyzed.An analysis of the claims database of all hospitalizations reimbursed from 2010 to 2012 in three counties of Yichang city(YC),which included 1506 discharges,was conducted to identify the differences in reimbursement rates and out-of-pocket(OOP)expenses among the health insurance schemes.Results:Tuberculosis patients had various inpatient expenses depending on which scheme they were covered by(TB patients covered by the NCMS have less inpatient expenses than those who were covered by the URBMI,who have less inpatient expenses than those covered by the UEBMI).We found a significant horizontal inequity of healthcare utilization among the lower socioeconomic groups.In terms of financial inequity,TB patients who earned less paid more.The NCMS provides modest financial protection,based on income.Overall,TB patients from lower socioeconomic groups were the most vulnerable.Conclusion:There are large disparities in reimbursement for TB care among the three health insurance schemes and this,in turn,hampers TB control.Reducing the gap in health outcomes between the three health insurance schemes in China should be a focus of TB care and control.Achieving equity through integrated policies that avoid discrimination is likely to be effective.

ICT-Enabled Universal Health Coverage Monitoring and Evaluation in Sub-Saharan Health Facilities： Study in 8 Reference Hospitals of Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali

Abstract： UHC （Universal Health Coverage） is at the center of the Sustainable Development Agenda. In this study, the authors made an evaluation of the indicators allowing quantification of the impact of health coverage schemes on patients, applied in 4 sub-Saharan Africa countries： Rwanda, Burundi, the DRC （Democratic Republic of Congo） and Mall After an analysis of potential health coverage indicators, the most relevant ones were calculated on the basis of patient administrative and health insurance data, collected via OpenClinic GA, an HIMS （health information management system） used in 8 sub-Saharan hospitals during the period 2010-2016. The results show that the PHSC （patient health services coverage） rate is highest （81.5%-92.7%） in the 2 hospitals of Rwanda and in 2 hospitals of Burundi （37.7%-77.7%）. The PHSP （patient health service payment） rate as the proportion of costs paid by the patient versus total health service costs is below the 25% threshold recommended by WHO only for the 2 hospitals in Rwanda. The POOP （patient out-of-pocket） payment is below the threshold of 180USD per patient per year for all hospitals. The HIEXs （health insurance expenditures） are funded by the university private insurance （86% of expenses covered） in 2 university teaching hospitals in DRC, by CBHI （community based health insurance） （69%） in 2 hospitals in Rwanda, by the free care policy （77%） in 2 hospitals in Burundi and by the SHI （social health insurance） （100%） in the 2 hospitals in Mali. PHSC in the 8 reference hospitals reflects the national trend towards UHC in each country. With this study, we demonstrate the possibility to assess the degree of UHC in developing countries, by a methodology based on indicators calculated via information extraction from routine data in electronic health records.