Publication
Title
The basic vs. ability-to-pay approach : evidence from China's critical illness insurance on whether different measurements of catastrophic health expenditure matter
Author
Abstract
Alleviating catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) is one of the vital objectives of health systems, as defined by the World Health Organization. However, no consensus has yet been reached on the measurement of CHE. With the aim of further relieving the adverse effects of CHE and alleviating the problem of illness-caused poverty, the Critical Illness Insurance (CII) program has been operational in China since 2012. In order to verify whether the different measurements of CHE matter under China's CII program, we compare the two-layer CII models built by using the basic approach and the ability-to-pay (ATP) approach at a range of thresholds. Exploiting the latest China family panel studies dataset, we demonstrate that the basic approach is more effective in relieving CHE for all insured households, while the ATP approach works better in reducing the severity of CHE in households facing it. These findings have meaningful implications for policymaking. The CII program should be promoted widely as a supplement to the current Social Basic Medical Insurance system. To improve the CII program's effectiveness, it should be based on the basic approach, and the threshold used to measure CHE should be determined by the goal pursued by the program.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Frontiers in Public Health
Publication
2021
ISSN
2296-2565
DOI
10.3389/FPUBH.2021.646810
Volume/pages
9 (2021) , p. 1-13
Article Reference
646810
ISI
000635551800001
Pubmed ID
33869132
Medium
E-only publicatie
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 05.05.2021
Last edited 25.11.2024
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