Basic Medical Insurance Scheme Research Articles

Analysis on the coverage of basic medical insurance for rare diseases and orphan drugs in China

Objective To explore a medical insurance model for rare diseases and orphan drugs applicable in China.Methods Eleven rare diseases from six disease systems and thirty-five orphan drugs covered were pinpointed for comparative analysis of their present coverage in various medical insurance systems in China.Results The coverage of 35 orphan drugs in the national essential drug list(2009)and the national essential drug list(2012)is 0 and 37.1％ respectively; the coverage in the national essential insurance medicine list is 54.3％ (19 types),and the average coverage in the medicine list for the New Rural Cooperative Medical Insurance Scheme is 33.6％.The study found insufficient rare diseases included in the Basic Medical Insurance Schemes in general.Conclusion The coverage of basic medical insurance for rare disease patients is low in China.In this regard,such measures should be taken to mitigate the economic burden for these patients,namely expanding the coverage of reimbursement list of orphan drugs,building the special reimbursement system of rare diseases and orphan drugs and improving the medical rescue system for rare diseases in China and their medical care level. Key words: Rare disease; Orphan drug; Medical insurance; Medicine list; Coverage

Demand for voluntary basic medical insurance in urban China: panel evidence from the Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance scheme

This paper investigates the key factors associated with the demand for Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance (URBMI), which was established in 2007 and aims to cover all Chinese urban residents. Two waves of longitudinal household survey data are used, and a three-level random-intercept logit model is used for the analysis. Two different sets of explanatory variables were identified for adults and children, separately. Results suggest for both the adult and the child samples that income, health status, age and health risk behaviours are key influencing factors for basic medical insurance demand. The household head's characteristics are also significantly related to other household members' medical insurance demands. Specifically, household heads who are more educated or retired are more likely to purchase medical insurance for their children. These findings suggest that an expansion of the special subsidy to the poor or, probably more important, a risk-adjusted benefit package may be needed for voluntary basic medical insurance in China. In addition, adverse selection consistently exists and is a major challenge for the sustainability of medical insurance financing. To expand insurance coverage for children, especially those under school age, special efforts (possibly through health education or health promotion) should be focused on the household head, particularly those engaging in risky health behaviours.

1 The formation process and current condition of the basic medical insurance scheme in China(From the Sub-sessions)

1 The formation process and current condition of the basic medical insurance scheme in China(From the Sub-sessions)

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