Who will drop out of voluntary social health insurance? Evidence from the New Cooperative Medical Scheme in China.
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SUBMITTER: Xu M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8530158 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:ObjectiveThe New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) is a universal healthcare coverage plan now covering over 98% of rural residents in China, first implemented in 2003. Rising costs in the face of modest gains in health and financial protections have raised questions about the cost-effectiveness of the NCMS.MethodsUsing the most recent estimates of the NCMS's health and economic consequences from a comprehensive review of the literature, we conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis using a Markov model for a hypothetical cohort between ages 20 and 100. We then did one-way sensitivity analyses and a probabilistic sensitivity analysis using Monte Carlo simulations to explore whether the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) falls below 37,059 international dollars [Int$], the willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of three times per capita GDP of China in 2013.FindingsThe ICER of the NCMS over the lifetime of an average 20-year-old rural resident in China was about Int$71,480 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained (95% confidence interval: cost-saving, Int$845,659/QALY). There was less than a 33% chance that the system was cost-saving or met the WTP threshold. However, the NCMS did fall under the threshold when changes in the program costs, the risk of mortality and hypertension, and the likelihood of labor force participation were tested in one-way sensitivity analyses.ConclusionThe NCMS appears to be economically inefficient in its current form. Further cost-effectiveness analyses are warranted in designing insurance benefit packages to ensure that the NCMS fund goes toward health care that has a good value in improving survival and quality of life.
| S-EPMC6287900 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundTo explore the equity in health services in the rural areas, by studying the rural residents in two counties of Ningbo City, Zhejiang.MethodsMulti-stage stratified cluster random sampling method was performed to draw the study sample. Trained investigators conducted face to face interviews using a questionnaire. Rural residents were stratified into 5 income groups. Centralized index (CI) and risk ratios (RR) were used to assess the equity in health services and the impact of the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS).ResultsThe centralized index of the 2 weeks prevalence, two-week visiting rate and chronic disease prevalence among different income groups was - 0.0264, - 0.0076 and - 0.0160, respectively, while that of the hospitalization rate was 0.0006. The highest NCMS coverage rate, adjusted risk of disease and catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) rates were observed in lowest income groups (92.86, 4.94 and 32.21%, respectively. Two-week prevalence, chronic diseases prevalence and RR showed a declining trend with increasing income levels.ConclusionNCMS has improved the service availability and reduced the economic burden of diseases. However, its impact on reducing the economic risk of illness and promoting equity in health services has not been significant.
| S-EPMC6013905 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundImproving health equity is a fundamental goal for establishing social health insurance. This article evaluated the benefits of the Integration of Social Medical Insurance (ISMI) policy for health services utilization in rural China.MethodsUsing the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal study (2011‒2018), we estimated the changes in rates and equity in health services utilization by a generalized linear mixed model, concentration curves, concentration indices, and a horizontal inequity index before and after the introduction of the ISMI policy.ResultsFor the changes in rates, the generalized linear mixed model showed that the rate of inpatient health services utilization (IHSU) nearly doubled after the introduction of the ISMI policy (8.78 % vs. 16.58 %), while the rate of outpatient health services utilization (OHSU) decreased (20.25 % vs. 16.35 %) after the implementation of the policy. For the changes in inequity, the concentration index of OHSU decreased significantly from - 0.0636 (95 % CL: -0.0846, - 0.0430) before the policy to - 0.0457 (95 % CL: -0.0684, - 0.0229) after it. In addition, the horizontal inequity index decreased from - 0.0284 before the implementation of the policy to - 0.0171 after it, indicating that the inequity of OHSU was further reduced. The concentration index of IHSU increased significantly from - 0.0532 (95 % CL: -0.0868, - 0.0196) before the policy was implemented to - 0.1105 (95 % CL: -0.1333, - 0.0876) afterwards; the horizontal inequity index of IHSU increased from - 0.0066 before policy implementation to - 0.0595 afterwards, indicating that more low-income participants utilized inpatient services after the policy came into effect.ConclusionsThe ISMI policy had a positive effect on improving the rate of IHSU but not on the rate of OHSU. This is in line with this policy's original intention of focusing on inpatient service rather than outpatients to achieve its principal goal of preventing catastrophic health expenditure. The ISMI policy had a positive effect on reducing the inequity in OHSU but a negative effect on the decrease in inequity in IHSU. Further research is needed to verify this change. This research on the effects of integration policy implementation may be useful to policy makers and has important policy implications for other developing countries facing similar challenges on the road to universal health coverage.
| S-EPMC8145815 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundMany countries are developing health financing mechanisms to pursue the goal of universal coverage. In China, a rural health insurance system entitled New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) is being developed since 2003. Although there is concern about whether the NCMS will influence the serious situation of inequity in health service utilization in rural China, there is only limited evidence available. This paper aims to assess the utilisation of outpatient and inpatient services among different income groups and provinces under NCMS in rural China.MethodsUsing multistage sampling processes, a cross-sectional household survey including 6,147 rural households and 22,636 individuals, was conducted in six counties in Shandong and Ningxia Provinces, China. Chi-square test, Poisson regression and log-linear regression were applied to analyze the association between NCMS and the utilization of outpatient and inpatient services and the length of stay for inpatients. Qualitative methods including individual interview and focus group discussion were applied to explain and complement the findings from the household survey.ResultsNCMS coverage was 95.9% in Shandong and 88.0% in Ningxia in 2006. NCMS membership had no significant association with outpatient service utilization regardless of income level and location.Inpatient service utilization has increased for the high income group under NCMS, but for the middle and low income, the change was not significant. Compared with non-members, NCMS members from Ningxia used inpatient services more frequently, while members from Shandong had a longer stay in hospital.High medical expenditure, low reimbursement rate and difference in NCMS policy design between regions were identified as the main reasons for the differences in health service utilization.ConclusionsOutpatient service utilization has not significantly changed under NCMS. Although utilization of inpatient service in general has increased under NCMS, people with high income tend to benefit more than the low income group. While providing financial protection against catastrophic medical expenditure is the principal focus of NCMS, this study recommends that outpatient services should be incorporated in future NCMS policy development. NCMS policy should also be more equity oriented to achieve its policy goal.
| S-EPMC2907764 | biostudies-literature
Project description:AimCommunity Based Health Insurance (CBHI) schemes have become central to health systems financing as avenues of achieving universal health coverage in developing countries. Yet, while emphasis in research and policy has mainly concentrated on enrolment, very little has been apportioned to high rates of dropping out after initial enrolment. The main aim of this study is to understand the factors behind CBHI dropping out through a cross-sectional quantitative research design to gain insights into curtailing the drop out of CBHI in Uganda.MethodsThe survey for the quantitative research component took place between August 2015 and March 2016 covering 464 households with under-5 children in south-western Uganda. To understand the factors associated with dropping out of CBHI, we employ a multivariate logistic regression on a subsample of 251 households who were either currently enrolled or had enrolled at one time and later dropped out.ResultsOverall, we find that 25.1 percent of the households that had ever enrolled in insurance reported dropping out. Household socioeconomic status (wealth) was one of the key factors that associated with dropping out. Larger household sizes and distance from the hospital were significantly associated with dropping out. More socially connected households were less likely to drop out revealing the influence of community social capital in keeping households insured.ConclusionThe findings have implications for addressing equity and inclusion concerns in community-based health insurance programmes such as one in south-western Uganda. Even when community based informal system aim for inclusion of the poorest, they are not enough and often the poorest of the poor slip into the cracks and remain uninsured or drop out. Moreover, policy interventions toward curtailing high dropout rates should be considered to ensure financial sustainability of CBHI schemes.
| S-EPMC8284644 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Subnational disparities in most health systems often defy 'one-size-fits-all' approach in policy implementation. When local authorities implement a national policy in a decentralized context, they behave as a strategic policy actor in specifying the central mandates, selecting appropriate tools and setting key implementation parameters. Local policy discretion leads to diverse policy mixes across regions, thus complicating evidence-based evaluations of policy impacts. When measuring complex policy reforms, mainstream policy evaluation methodologies have tended to adopt simplified policy proxies that often disguise distinct policy choices across localities, leaving the heterogeneous effects of the same generic policy largely unknown. Using the emerging 'text-as-data' methodology and drawing from subnational policy documents, this study developed a novel approach to policy measurement through analysing policy big data. We applied this approach to examine the impacts of China's Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) on individuals' out-of-pocket (OOP) spending. We found substantial disparities in policy choices across prefectures when categorizing the UEBMI policy framework into benefit-expansion and cost-containment reforms. Overall, the UEBMI policies lowered enrollees' OOP spending in prefectures that embraced both benefit-expansion and cost-containment reforms. In contrast, the policies produced ill effects on OOP spending of UEBMI enrollees and uninsured workers in prefectures that carried out only benefit-expansion or cost-containment reforms. The micro-level impacts of UEBMI enrolment on OOP spending were conditional on whether prefectural benefit-expansion and cost-containment reforms were undertaken in concert. Only in prefectures that promulgated both types of reforms did UEBMI enrolment reduce OOP spending. These findings contribute to a comprehensive text-mining measurement approach to locally diverse policy efforts and an integration of macro-level policy analysis and micro-level individual analysis. Contextualizing policy measurements would improve the methodological rigour of health policy evaluations. This paper concludes with implications for health policymakers in China and beyond.
| S-EPMC9849718 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundIn 2002, the Chinese government launched a new rural health financing policy to provide health insurance (New Cooperative Medical Scheme, NCMS) for its rural population. NCMS, jointly financed by governments and individual households, aims to protect households from impoverishment due to catastrophic health expenditure. In 2011, NCMS covered more than 96% of the rural population. We have systematically searched and reviewed available evidence to estimate the effects of NCMS on health outcomes and on alleviating catastrophic health expenditure.MethodsPubMed, Web of Science with Conference Proceedings, ProQuest Digital Dissertations, CMCI, CNKI, and VIP were searched. We also obtained literature from colleague communications. Quasi-experimental studies regarding the effect of NCMS on health outcomes and catastrophic health expenditure were included. Two independent reviewers screened the literature, extracted the data, and assessed the study quality.ResultsFifteen studies out of the 6123 studies in the literature fulfilled criteria and were included in this review. Twelve studies identified the relationship between NCMS and health outcomes, among which six studies measured sickness or injury in the past four weeks, four measured sickness or injury in the past two weeks, and five measured self-reported health status. Four studies focused on the relationship between NCMS and alleviating catastrophic health expenditure. However, the results from these studies were in conflict: individual studies indicated that NCMS had positive, negative, or no effect on health outcomes and/or the incidence of catastrophic health payments, respectively.ConclusionsWe still have no clear evidence that NCMS improves the health outcomes and decreases the alleviating catastrophic health expenditure of the China's rural population. In addition, the heterogeneity among individual studies reminds us that provider payment method reforms, benefit package and information systems around NCMS should be improved in the future.
| S-EPMC3423411 | biostudies-literature
Project description:INTRODUCTION: China's New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) was brought to life in 2003 in response to the deterioration in access to health services in rural areas. Despite its fast expansion, the scheme's impacts on access to health care have raised growing concerns, in particular regarding whether and to what extent the scheme has reduced inequity in access to health care in rural China. METHODS: This study examines income-related inequity in access to health care from 2004 (before the national rollout of NCMS) to 2009 (after the expansion of NCMS across the rural China) by estimating Concentration Indices over both formal health care (outpatient care, prevention care) and informal health care use (folk doctor care). Data were drawn from a longitudinal household survey dataset - China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). RESULTS: The study suggested that the level of inequity remained the same for outpatient care, and an increased favouring-poor gap in terms of folk doctor care was observed. In terms of preventive care, a favouring-rich inequity was observed both in 2004 and 2009, but the effects of inequity were narrowed. The NCMS had some effects in reducing income-related health inequity in folk doctor care and preventive care, but the contribution was rather small. The study also found that the rural better-off had started to seek for commercial insurance to cover possible financial risks from the burden of diseases. CONCLUSION: The study concludes that the impacts of the NCMS on improving access to formal care for the poor are limited. Without a more comprehensive insurance package that effectively targets the rural poor, the intended equity goals expected from the scheme will be difficult to realize.
| S-EPMC3616826 | biostudies-other
Project description:Background and Aim:Health equity is an important goal of health policy, and the equalization of access to health care plays a vital role in guaranteeing it. The aim of this study was to use the cross-sectional data to explore the effect of New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme (NRCMS) on the socioeconomic inequality in inpatient service utilization among the elderly in china. Methods:The data of this study were obtained from the 2018 wave of China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), involving 3645 older adults aged 60 and above. Furthermore, concentration index and concentration curve were employed to measure the socioeconomic inequality in inpatient service utilization. Moreover, this study used multiple linear regression model to explore the effect of NRCMS on inpatient service utilization. In addition, this study adopted the decomposition of concentration index to investigate the effect of NRCMS on the socioeconomic inequality of inpatient service utilization. Results:The concentration index of inpatient expense for the older people was 0.0538, and its concentration curve lays below the diagonal. The regression result indicates that NRCMS was significantly associated with higher inpatient expense among the elderly (coefficient = 0.8749, p < 0.01). The decomposition result reveals that the contribution rate of NRCMS to concentration index was -2.29%, which indicates that its contribution on reducing pro-rich inequality in inpatient service utilization was limited. Conclusion:This study demonstrates that there was a pro-rich inequality in inpatient service utilization among the elderly. Furthermore, NRCMS was significantly associated with higher inpatient expense. Moreover, NRCMS only played a limited role in reducing pro-rich inequality in inpatient service utilization.
| S-EPMC7471479 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background and aimGlobally, 12.8 million children have vision impairment due to uncorrected refractive error (URE). In Mongolia, one in five children needs but do not have access to spectacles. This pilot cost-benefit analysis aims to estimate the net benefits of a children's spectacles reimbursement scheme in Mongolia.MethodsA willingness-to-pay (WTP) survey using the contingent valuation method was administered to rural and urban Mongolia respondents. The survey assessed WTP in additional annual taxes for any child with refractive error to be provided government-subsidised spectacles. Net benefits were then calculated based on mean WTP (i.e. benefit) and cost of spectacles.ResultsThe survey recruited 50 respondents (mean age 40.2 ± 9.86 years; 78.0% women; 100% response rate) from rural and urban Mongolia. Mean WTP was US$24.00 ± 5.15 (95% CI US$22.55 to 25.35). The average cost of a pair of spectacles in Mongolia is US$15.00. Subtracting the average cost of spectacles from mean WTP yielded a mean positive net benefit of US$9.00.ConclusionA spectacle reimbursement scheme is potentially a cost-effective intervention to address childhood vision impairment due to URE in Mongolia. These preliminary findings support the proposal of the inclusion of children's spectacles into existing Social Health Insurance. A much larger random sample could be employed in future research to increase the precision and generalisability of findings.
| S-EPMC9377584 | biostudies-literature