An Empirical Study on the Inequality in Health and Healthcare in China's Medical Reform

Abstract

To make clear what role the Urban and Rural Residents Basic Medical Insurance (URRBMI) plays in the inequality in health and healthcare, this article combines the time-varying DID method with the concentration index to conduct an empirical study. We find that the URRBMI improves health but expands health inequality among different income groups, with its contribution growing over time. Besides, the URRBMI significantly promotes healthcare utilization, reduces the medical burden, and narrows the gap among different income groups, though this effect is generally downward. These findings help clarify what deserves more attention to enlarge benefits and reduce inequality in this medical reform and provide policy implications for policymakers. Increasing investment in medical resources and constructing the hierarchical medical system and medical treatment combination may make a difference.