Abstract
BackgroundDifferent classification of hospitals (COH) have an important impact on medical expenditures in China. The objective of this study is to examine the impact of COH on medical expenditures with the hope of providing insights into appropriate care and resource allocation.MethodsFrom the perspective of COH framework, using the Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) data of Chengdu City from 2011 to 2015, with sample size of 488,623 hospitalized patients, our study empirically analyzed the effect of COH on medical expenditure by multivariate regression modeling.ResultsThe average medical expenditure was 5468.86 Yuan (CNY), the average expenditure of drug, diagnostic testing, medical consumables, nursing care, bed, surgery and blood expenditures were 1980.06 Yuan (CNY), 1536.27 Yuan (CNY), 500.01 Yuan (CNY), 166.23 Yuan (CNY), 221.98 Yuan (CNY), 983.18 Yuan (CNY) and 1733.21 Yuan (CNY) respectively. Patients included in the analysis were mainly elderly, with an average age of 86.65 years old. Female and male gender were split evenly. The influence of COH on total medical expenditures was significantly negative (p < 0.001). The reimbursement ratio of UEBMI had a significantly positive (p < 0.001) effect on various types of medical expenditures, indicating that the higher the reimbursement ratio was, the higher the medical expenditures would be.ConclusionsCOH influenced medical expenditures significantly. In consideration of reducing medical expenditures, the government should not only start from the supply side of healthcare services, but also focus on addressing the demand side.
Highlights
Different classification of hospitals (COH) have an important impact on medical expenditures in China
We studied the influence of COH on medical expenditures based on the premise of a full patient recovery, including patients discharged from the hospital
By controlling all the variables other than independent variables that can cause the dependent variable to change, can the causality be clarified between COH and HE in the regression analysis.The price factor included the reimbursement ratio and the deductible was defined as a potential factor that affected the medical expenditure
Summary
Different classification of hospitals (COH) have an important impact on medical expenditures in China. Li et al Cost Eff Resour Alloc (2020) 18:35 expenditures will increase the financial burden, reduce the affordability of medical services and the sustainability of medical insurance, and hinder the improvement of population health It is an important research subject for the Healthy China strategy [1] to analyze factors causing the increase of medical expenditure and; to put forth suggested solutions to control them. Grade III hospitals are tertiary hospitals that provide high-level specialized medical services and undertake advanced teaching and scientific research tasks. These three grades are subdivided into 3 subsidiary grades, including A, B and C based on the hospital’s scale, service provision, medical technology and equipment, medical research and so on
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
