Cost shifting or cost cutting by hospitals as a response to reimbursement reform? The case of diagnosis-related groups (DRG) scheme in China.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Diagnosis-related group (DRG) systems for healthcare reimbursement were recently introduced among hospitals in China, raising concerns about cost-shifting, where hospitals may increase charges for self-financing patients to offset reimbursement cuts by DRG. In 2018, both Nanchang and Ganzhou Cities in Jiangxi Province installed DRG information systems, but only Nanchang fully implemented the DRG system during the 2019-2020 pilot period.

Materials and methods

Drawing from a healthcare administrative dataset of 14,310 patients' records, this study investigates the hospitalization costs associated with Intraocular Lens (IOL) implantation procedures in Jiangxi Province, China, from 2017 to 2020. By applying the quantile difference-in-differences (DID) and difference-i

SUBMITTER: Wang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12404921 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature