Public Medical Insurance Reforms in China

This book investigates public medical insurance reform in China and studies its effects from both institutional and empirical study perspectives. It provides the reader with academic evidence for understanding the transformation of public medical insurance and its effect on the utilization of healthcare services, expenditure for medical care, individuals’ financial portfolio allocation, and well-being. The main content of the book comprises two parts. First, institutional transformations of public medical insurance are considered: medical insurance reform in rural and urban China, and problems of medical insurance reform in the country. Second, it looks at the impact of public medical insurance reforms in China: evidence-based on empirical studies, including determinants of participation in medical insurance, the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme and its effects on the utilization of healthcare services, medical insurance and its effects on out-of-pocket expenditure, risky financial market participation, and well-being in China. This study provides academic evidence about these issues based on economic theories and econometric methods using many kinds of nationwide Chinese representative survey data. The book is highly recommended to readers who are interested in up-to-date and in-depth empirical studies on the mechanisms of participation in medical insurance and the impact of public medical insurance reforms on individuals and household behaviors in China. This volume will be of interest to those who are interested in the Chinese economy, social security policymakers, and scholars with an econometric analysis background.