By Pengpeng Wang

This study explores the effect of benefit designs and demographic factors on health care utilization and health status of elderly rural enrollees in the New Cooperative Medical Scheme, a rural health insurance program implemented by the Chinese government in 2003. Using the new data from CHARLS pilot study, we find that immediate reimbursement does not have a statistically significant effect on health utilization as suggested in a previous study, but instead on health status. Other policy-related factors neither have a significant effect due to limited data and large standard deviation nor display a consistent effect.

View Thesis

Advisor: Frank Sloan | JEL Codes: I13, I18 | Tagged: Health Care Utilization, Health Insurance, Health Status, New Cooperative Medical Scheme, Reimbusement Method, Rural China