Why Health Care Became So Expensive in China? The Transformation of Healthcare Financing During Chinese Economic Development

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2012

Publication Title

International Journal of Public Policy

Volume

8

Issue

1/2/3

First page number:

4

Last page number:

20

Abstract

Under the influence of national economic reform and development, China has changed the way that it finances healthcare from a government-based system to a more market-oriented system. China has done this without a sophisticated healthcare payment system, and this has resulted in the rapid growth of health expenditures and many Chinese not being able to access needed healthcare. This review covers the changes in healthcare financing since 1979; how these changes have happened; how they have impacted the Chinese people; and what policy and programme changes are needed to improve the current system.

Keywords

Access to healthcare; China; Economic development; Economic reform; Health expenditure; Health policy; Health services accessibility; Healthcare financing; Healthcare costs; Market-oriented healthcare; Medical care – Costs; Medical policy; Reimbursement

Disciplines

Economics | Health Economics | Health Policy | Medicine and Health

Language

English

Permissions

Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the item. Publisher policy does not allow archiving the final published version. If a post-print (author's peer-reviewed manuscript) is allowed and available, or publisher policy changes, the item will be deposited.

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