New evidence on the impact of China's New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme and its implications for rural primary healthcare: multivariate difference-in-difference analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To determine whether China's New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS), which aims to provide health insurance to 800 million rural citizens and to correct distortions in rural primary care, and the individual policy attributes have affected the operation and use of village health clinics.

Design

We performed a difference-in-difference analysis using multivariate linear regressions, controlling for clinic and individual attributes as well as village and year effects.

Setting

100 villages within 25 rural counties across five Chinese provinces in 2004 and 2007. Participants 160 village primary care clinics and 8339 individuals.

Main outcome measures

Clinic outcomes were log average weekly patient flow, log average monthly gross income, log total annu

SUBMITTER: Babiarz KS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6173169 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature