China's new cooperative medical scheme and equity in access to health care: evidence from a longitudinal household survey.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

China's New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) was brought to life in 2003 in response to the deterioration in access to health services in rural areas. Despite its fast expansion, the scheme's impacts on access to health care have raised growing concerns, in particular regarding whether and to what extent the scheme has reduced inequity in access to health care in rural China.

Methods

This study examines income-related inequity in access to health care from 2004 (before the national rollout of NCMS) to 2009 (after the expansion of NCMS across the rural China) by estimating Concentration Indices over both formal health care (outpatient care, prevention care) and informal health care use (folk doctor care). Data were drawn from a longitudinal household survey data

SUBMITTER: Yang W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3616826 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature