The Impact of Long-Term Care Insurance on Medical Utilization and Expenditures: Evidence from Jingmen, China

Xueqin Deng; Jiaxin Liao; Rong Peng; Jiahao Chen

doi:10.3390/ijerph191912275

The Impact of Long-Term Care Insurance on Medical Utilization and Expenditures: Evidence from Jingmen, China

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Sep 27;19(19):12275. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191912275.

Authors

Xueqin Deng¹, Jiaxin Liao¹, Rong Peng¹, Jiahao Chen¹

Affiliation

¹ Institute of New Development, Guangdong University of Finance and Economics, Guangzhou 510320, China.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of long-term care insurance (LTCI) on medical utilization and expenditures in Jingmen, a pilot city of China. The propensity score matching-difference in difference (PSM-DID) approach was employed to examine the expenses and frequency of inpatient and outpatient services before and after the implementation of the LTCI based on the 2015-2018 panel data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). The results showed that the annual expenditure and frequency of the inpatient services of Jingmen residents were reduced by 1923 Yuan (287.0 USD) and 0.24 times, respectively. The impact of the LTCI varied between urban and rural areas. The annual expenditure and frequency of inpatient services in rural areas were reduced by 1600 Yuan (238.8 USD) and 0.30 times, which were lower than those (3400 Yuan (507.5 USD) and 0.20 times) in urban areas. The monthly outpatient expenses and frequency in rural areas were reduced by 300 Yuan (44.8 USD) and 0.14 times, but increased by 555 Yuan (82.8 USD) and 0.07 times in urban area. The findings indicated that the implementation of the LTCI can reduce the medical utilization and expenses, and it had a greater effect in rural areas than in urban areas. It is suggested to promote the LTCI nationwide, and more policy preference should be given to the development of the LTCI in rural areas.

Keywords: CHARLS; PSM-DID; long-term care insurance; medical utilization and expenditure.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

China
Health Expenditures*
Humans
Insurance, Health
Insurance, Long-Term Care*
Longitudinal Studies
Rural Population

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, grant number 72074055; the Innovation Team Project of Guangdong Provincial Department of Education, grant number 2020WCXTD014; Scientific Research Project of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Education, grant number 2018WZDXM004; Scientific research project of Guangdong Provincial Department of Education, grant number 2022WTSCX028. And the APC was funded by Scientific research project of Guangdong Provincial Department of Education.