Health care pricing and payment reforms in China : the implications for health service delivery and cost containment

Abstract

China's transition into a market economy has exerted some influence on the health sector in terms of a significant growth of facilities, but it has also produced a range of destabilizing social costs.

This thesis analyzes the relations between healthcare pricing and payment reforms and the different delivery aspects such as the exemption program for the poor, public health programs for tuberculosis control and the provision of hospital services. A health economics and systems conceptual framework is used for analyzing aspects of the health systems in terms of market failures and the institutional response from governments and regulators.

In study I, the exemption programs for hospitals where the poor are relieved of paying the price or user charges are analyzed. The study is a case study where patient records from nine hospitals were reviewed, together with interviews with key informants and community representatives. The study showed that the discount offered was limited, where only a minority of indigents received discounts and the hospitals lacked incentives for efficiently carrying out the programs.

Study II investigates the effect of the new urban health insurance system on hospital charges. The study uses two tracers, acute appendicitis and normal childbirth, at six hospitals from two cities with different insurance systems. The result showed a lower rate of increase in hospitals charges in the city implementing the urban health insurance reform. Regression analysis showed contracting mechanisms and length of stay to be the main determinants for hospital charges.

Study III analyzes the operation of TB control programs in a decentralized financial system. A case study was conducted in four counties with different economic developments in the Shandong province. Data was collected from a review of documents and interviews with patients and key informants. The study showed weak government support to the TB control program and less developed DOT (directly observed therapy) programs in the poorer counties. TB patients suffered heavy financial burdens. The decentralized financing system had negatively affected the provision of public health programs such as TB control programs.

In study IV, the impact of retail price control of drugs on hospital drug expenditures was examined. The study is a case study at two hospitals. Total drug expenditures were analyzed based on financial records and a tracer, cerebral infarction, was used for an in-depth examination of prices, volume, expenditures and rationality of drug use. Findings showed that after the implementation of the drug pricing policy, total drug expenditures increased as rapidly as before. Drug expenditure per patient for cerebral infarction showed indistinct results, indicating that the regulation was not effective. Utilization rather than price was more determinative for drug expenditures.

Study V investigates the development of revenues, costs and performance in the hospital sector. In a sample of 41 hospitals in two cities, the use of inputs, investments and productivity was estimated. The findings showed that hospitals had expanded their staff and invested in new medical equipment. The corresponding change of outputs in terms of outpatient and inpatient performance showed a slower increasing rate, resulting in a diminishing productivity rate over time.

The market-oriented health care system in China is faced with different 'market failures' problems such as limited access to health services for the poor and the inaccuracy in relying on market mechanisms for services characterized by positive externalities, such as the public health programs. Financial autonomy has given health providers the incentives to maximize revenues. Government interventions to contain costs and improve efficiency show that a sole reliance on the price mechanism is insufficient and must be combined with other tools set by regulators and insurers.