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Providing comprehensive health insurance coverage in rural China: a critical appraisal of the New Cooperative Medical Scheme and ways forward

Yang, Wei, Wu, X. (2017) Providing comprehensive health insurance coverage in rural China: a critical appraisal of the New Cooperative Medical Scheme and ways forward. Global Policy, 8 (S2). pp. 110-116. ISSN 1758-5880. E-ISSN 1758-5899. (doi:10.1111/1758-5899.12209) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:36984)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided. (Contact us about this Publication)
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12209

Abstract

Health insurance reform for rural China is at a crossroads. The achievements of recent reform initiatives appear remarkable as measured by coverage through the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS). Yet there is little evidence that NCMS has made major strides toward reducing the financial risks of health care for the rural population. We argue that to improve the overall performance of the NCMS, more attention should be directed to improve insurance benefit package, strengthen the roles of government agencies as purchasers and third-party payers, reforming provider payment methods, as well as to establish a fiscal redistribution mechanism to reduce inequities in health financing arising from different regions of the country. Our critical assessment also points to the danger that this system may be trapped in a vicious cycle of increases in government subsidies and resulting cost escalations in health care due to strategic responses among health care providers, a factor that hitherto has been largely overlooked.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1111/1758-5899.12209
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HG Finance
R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research > Personal Social Services Research Unit
Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research > Centre for Health Services Studies
Depositing User: Tony Rees
Date Deposited: 28 Nov 2013 11:37 UTC
Last Modified: 29 Oct 2021 14:37 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/36984 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Yang, Wei.

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