Decoupling of elderly healthcare demand and expenditure in China

Shangguang Yang, Danyang Wang*, Wenhui Li, Chunlan Wang, Xi Yang, Kevin Lo*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

    10 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This study examined the changing trajectory and factors that influenced the health and medical expenditure of the Chinese elderly population over the past two decades. Based on the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) from 1998 to 2018, inferential and multiple linear regression models were constructed. The key finding is that China has experienced a decou-pling of healthcare demand (HCD) and healthcare expenditure (HCE) since around 2014, when HCE began to decline despite the fact that HCD continued to rise. This is a promising sign, suggesting that the government’s health insurance policy is working. Furthermore, participating in health insurance schemes can significantly reduce the elderly’s HCD and HCE, demonstrating that health insurance can effectively affect the elderly’s decision to seek medical treatment and improve their health condition. We also found that age, region, basic old-age insurance, and care by the government and institutions were significant factors that influenced the healthcare demand and expenditure of the elderly population.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number1346
    JournalHealthcare (Switzerland)
    Volume9
    Issue number10
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 10 Oct 2021

    Scopus Subject Areas

    • Health Informatics
    • Health Policy
    • Health Information Management
    • Leadership and Management

    User-Defined Keywords

    • China
    • Healthcare demand
    • Healthcare expenditure
    • Population aging

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