Background According to the regulations of the Chinese and Shanghai governments, migrant workers employed in Shanghai should all be entitled to Shanghai Migrant Worker Hospitalization Insurance （SMWHI） without premi...Background According to the regulations of the Chinese and Shanghai governments, migrant workers employed in Shanghai should all be entitled to Shanghai Migrant Worker Hospitalization Insurance （SMWHI） without premium and the vast majority should also have the New Rural Cooperative Medical System （NRCMS）. This study aimed to examine the status of the coverage and utilization of health insurance among migrant workers employed in Shanghai. Methods Quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed in the study. A survey of 1020 migrant workers employed in Shanghai was conducted in 2010 with a structured questionnaire. Focus group discussions were held with respondents who were unable to maintain health insurance coverage through NRCMS or SMWHI. In-depth interviews were held with village heads and employers of the migrant workers, migrant workers who were hospitalized within the last year, and various individuals employed by the insurance agencies. Results The study found that 72.9% and 36.5% of migrant workers were covered by NRCMS or SMWHI, respectively, while 16.7% of them had no health insurance. The coverage by NRCMS among migrant workers correlated significantly with education level and workplace, while the coverage by SMWHI correlated significantly with the length of employment in Shanghai and workplace. The qualitative results confirmed that migrant workers were the main group who were not covered by NRCMS, and the coverage by SMWHI was completely dependent upon the employers of the migrant worker. The results also showed that health insurance utilization among migrant workers was strongly limited by hospital location. Conclusions We observed that the status of health insurance among migrant workers was not accordant with theory, and that Chinese health insurance policy should be further reformed in order to realize full coverage and equal utilization of health insurance among migrant workers in China.展开更多
Migrant workers have become a major element of the labor force in Chinese cities, making important contributions to the economy while forming a socially disadvantaged group. Existing research on the relationship betwe...Migrant workers have become a major element of the labor force in Chinese cities, making important contributions to the economy while forming a socially disadvantaged group. Existing research on the relationship between the level of nutrition and health and income in China mainly focuses on farmers living in rural areas. Based on a Mincer equation and using a survey in Beijing, this paper examines the relationship between migrant workers＂ nutrition and health levels and their monthly incomes. We find that the nutrition intake and the body mass index have positive effects on income while duration of illness and daily working hours have negative effects. These conclusions imply that the Chinese Government should put more emphasis on improving migrant workers＇ well-being, including offering educational programs on nutrition and health, and enhancing medical insurance and the old-age insurance system.展开更多
The migration of rural laborers into cities for employment has been one of the main driving forces of China＇s economic growth over the past three decades. Based on a dataset collected by the Ministry of Agriculture o...The migration of rural laborers into cities for employment has been one of the main driving forces of China＇s economic growth over the past three decades. Based on a dataset collected by the Ministry of Agriculture of China from 2003 to 2007, this paper examines the impact of health on the earnings of migrant workers engaging in physically-intensive work requiring good health. Our findings indicate that a poor health status not only weakens the incentive of rural laborers to participate in the migrant labor force but also significantly reduces their earnings. A migrant worker in poor health only earns 67percent of what a healthy worker makes. Among all the human capital characteristics and family economic factors, health status is the most influential on earnings for less educated workers. Labor productivity has a greater impact on earnings than the annual number of days that aperson works. Ongoing health-care reforms aimed at the improvement of the health-care services available to rural laborers are urged to help reduce poverty in rural China.展开更多
WITH the deepening of economic reform, an increasingly large surplus labor force is transforming urban areas. They are flocking to areas such as Guangdong Province, which has attracted the highest number of rural migr...WITH the deepening of economic reform, an increasingly large surplus labor force is transforming urban areas. They are flocking to areas such as Guangdong Province, which has attracted the highest number of rural migrant workers in the country. In the first six months of 1996, its registered migrant labor force from other provinces reached 5.4 million; in Zhongshan City alone, it numbers more than 400,000, among whom 240,000 are women.展开更多
文摘Background According to the regulations of the Chinese and Shanghai governments, migrant workers employed in Shanghai should all be entitled to Shanghai Migrant Worker Hospitalization Insurance （SMWHI） without premium and the vast majority should also have the New Rural Cooperative Medical System （NRCMS）. This study aimed to examine the status of the coverage and utilization of health insurance among migrant workers employed in Shanghai. Methods Quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed in the study. A survey of 1020 migrant workers employed in Shanghai was conducted in 2010 with a structured questionnaire. Focus group discussions were held with respondents who were unable to maintain health insurance coverage through NRCMS or SMWHI. In-depth interviews were held with village heads and employers of the migrant workers, migrant workers who were hospitalized within the last year, and various individuals employed by the insurance agencies. Results The study found that 72.9% and 36.5% of migrant workers were covered by NRCMS or SMWHI, respectively, while 16.7% of them had no health insurance. The coverage by NRCMS among migrant workers correlated significantly with education level and workplace, while the coverage by SMWHI correlated significantly with the length of employment in Shanghai and workplace. The qualitative results confirmed that migrant workers were the main group who were not covered by NRCMS, and the coverage by SMWHI was completely dependent upon the employers of the migrant worker. The results also showed that health insurance utilization among migrant workers was strongly limited by hospital location. Conclusions We observed that the status of health insurance among migrant workers was not accordant with theory, and that Chinese health insurance policy should be further reformed in order to realize full coverage and equal utilization of health insurance among migrant workers in China.
文摘Migrant workers have become a major element of the labor force in Chinese cities, making important contributions to the economy while forming a socially disadvantaged group. Existing research on the relationship between the level of nutrition and health and income in China mainly focuses on farmers living in rural areas. Based on a Mincer equation and using a survey in Beijing, this paper examines the relationship between migrant workers＂ nutrition and health levels and their monthly incomes. We find that the nutrition intake and the body mass index have positive effects on income while duration of illness and daily working hours have negative effects. These conclusions imply that the Chinese Government should put more emphasis on improving migrant workers＇ well-being, including offering educational programs on nutrition and health, and enhancing medical insurance and the old-age insurance system.
基金The authors are grateful for the support of the National Social Science Foundation of China （13CGL 102）, the Ministry of Education of China （12YJC790152）, the National Post-doctoral Council of China （2012M510316） and the National Post-doctoral Council of China （2013T60058）.
文摘The migration of rural laborers into cities for employment has been one of the main driving forces of China＇s economic growth over the past three decades. Based on a dataset collected by the Ministry of Agriculture of China from 2003 to 2007, this paper examines the impact of health on the earnings of migrant workers engaging in physically-intensive work requiring good health. Our findings indicate that a poor health status not only weakens the incentive of rural laborers to participate in the migrant labor force but also significantly reduces their earnings. A migrant worker in poor health only earns 67percent of what a healthy worker makes. Among all the human capital characteristics and family economic factors, health status is the most influential on earnings for less educated workers. Labor productivity has a greater impact on earnings than the annual number of days that aperson works. Ongoing health-care reforms aimed at the improvement of the health-care services available to rural laborers are urged to help reduce poverty in rural China.
文摘WITH the deepening of economic reform, an increasingly large surplus labor force is transforming urban areas. They are flocking to areas such as Guangdong Province, which has attracted the highest number of rural migrant workers in the country. In the first six months of 1996, its registered migrant labor force from other provinces reached 5.4 million; in Zhongshan City alone, it numbers more than 400,000, among whom 240,000 are women.
