An interim interdisciplinary evaluation of China’s national health care reform: emerging evidence and new perspectives

Abstract

Five years have elapsed since the Chinese government unveiled its ambitious health care reform in 2009. A critical juncture in the reform process has been reached and it is time to assess its performance to date in order to inform the next phase of the reform. This article serves as both a review of important studies in the English language literature and the editorial of a special issue titled ‘An interim interdisciplinary evaluation of China’s national health care reform’. Comprising of six individual research articles, this issue represents a rigorous interim appraisal of the reform from an interdisciplinary perspective. The key message of this issue is threefold. First, social insurance is not the silver bullet for China’s health care reform; a revamp is needed to provide better financial protection and to facilitate the move to strategic purchasing. Second, orchestrated reform of the delivery system is needed to address the root causes of rapid cost escalation and vast inefficiency: provider payment reform is the key. Third, in managing the reform process, strategic attention must be given to the dynamic interaction of institutions and incentives. Good governance matters.