Effects of Public Hospital Reform on Inpatient Expenditures in Rural China

Abstract

Public hospital reform is one priority area in the healthcare system reform that China launched in 2009. The Chinese government invested over $10bn for pilot projects in public hospital reform in rural China. However, little evidence exists on their effects. Using a quasi-natural experiment design, we evaluated the effects of a public hospital pilot project in Hubei province on inpatient spending. We obtained inpatient claims data from 1/1/2011 through 6/30/2013 for enrollees in the New Cooperative Medical Scheme in two counties: Danjiangkou, one of the pilot counties selected for reform in September 2012, and Laohekou, a similar, adjacent county serving as the control group. Using a dif..