Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Dec;30(12):2419-26.
doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2010.1291.

Health insurance coverage rates in 9 provinces in China doubled from 1997 to 2006, with a dramatic rural upswing

Hongwei Xu  1 , Susan E Short
Affiliations

Health insurance coverage rates in 9 provinces in China doubled from 1997 to 2006, with a dramatic rural upswing

Hongwei Xu et al. Health Aff (Millwood). 2011 Dec.

Abstract

We examined the distribution of health insurance in China during 1997-2006, a period when government interventions were implemented to improve access to health care. We analyzed data from a survey that follows households in nine provinces that are home to more than 40 percent of China's population. The analysis shows that the percentage of individuals with insurance increased from 24 percent in 1997 to 28 percent in 2004 and then rose dramatically, to 49 percent in 2006. Rural and urban levels of insurance coverage became more similar, reflecting a dramatic upswing in coverage in rural areas that is likely to have benefited millions of rural Chinese. At the same time, the analysis suggests that health insurance reimbursement rates to consumers for inpatient care might have declined in rural villages. Because reimbursement and other insurance characteristics affect health care use, future efforts to reduce rural-urban disparities should address the quality of health insurance and the level of reimbursement in addition to coverage rates.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Exhibit 2
Exhibit 2
Predicted Probability Of Having Insurance By Location SOURCE China Health and Nutrition Surveys for 1997, 2000, 2004, and 2006.
Exhibit 3
Exhibit 3
Predicted Average Outpatient Care Reimbursement Rate By Location SOURCE China Health and Nutrition Surveys for 1997, 2000, 2004, and 2006.
Exhibit 4
Exhibit 4
Predicted Average Inpatient Care Reimbursement Rate By Location SOURCE China Health and Nutrition Surveys for 1997, 2000, 2004, and 2006.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Liu G, Zhao Z, Cai R, Yamada T, Yamada T. Equity in health care access to: assessing the urban health insurance reform in China. Soc Sci Med. 2002;55(10):1779–94. - PubMed
    1. Yip W, Hsiao WC. Non-evidence-based policy: how effective is China’s new cooperative medical scheme in reducing medical impoverishment? Soc Sci Med. 2009;68(2):201–9. - PubMed
    1. Wagstaff A, Lindelow M, Jun G, Ling X, Juncheng Q. Extending health insurance to the rural population: an impact evaluation of China’s new cooperative medical scheme. J Health Econ. 2009;28(1):1–19. - PubMed
    1. Hsiao WC. The political economy of Chinese health reform. Health Econ Policy Law. 2007;2(3):241–9. - PubMed
    1. Hsiao WCL, Liu Y. Economic reform and health— lessons from China. N Engl J Med. 1996;335(6):430–2. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources