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An Empirical Analysis of Rural-Urban Differences in Out-Of-Pocket Health Expenditures in a Low-Income Society of China
- Source :
- PLoS ONE, PLoS ONE, Vol 11, Iss 5, p e0154563 (2016)
- Publication Year :
- 2016
- Publisher :
- Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2016.
-
Abstract
- Objective - The paper examines whether out-of-pocket health care expenditure also has regional discrepancies, comparing to the equity between urban and rural areas, and across households. Method - Sampled data were derived from Urban Household Survey and Rural Household Survey data for 2011/2012 for Anhui Province, and 11049 households were included in this study. The study compared differences in out-of-pocket expenditure on health care between regions (urban vs. rural areas) and years (2011 vs. 2012) using two-sample t-test, and also investigated the degree of inequality using Lorenz and concentration curves. Result - Approximately 5% and 8% of total household consumption expenditure was spent on health care for urban and rural populations, respectively. In 2012, the wealthiest 20% of urban and rural population contributed 49.7% and 55.8% of urban and rural total health expenditure respectively, while the poorest 20% took only 4.7% and 4.4%. The concentration curve for out-of-pocket expenditure in 2012 fell below the corresponding concentration curve for 2011 for both urban and rural areas, and the difference between curves for rural areas was greater than that for urban areas. Conclusion - A substantial and increasing gap in health care expenditures existed between urban and rural areas in Anhui. The health care financing inequality merits ample attention, with need for policymaking to focus on improving the accessibility to essential health care services, particularly for rural and poor residents. This study may provide useful information on low income areas of China.
- Subjects :
- Male
Rural Population
Urban Population
Economics
lcsh:Medicine
Social Sciences
Geographical Locations
0302 clinical medicine
Health care
Medicine and Health Sciences
Per capita
Public and Occupational Health
030212 general & internal medicine
lcsh:Science
Socioeconomics
Geographic Areas
media_common
Family Characteristics
Multidisciplinary
Geography
Ecology
030503 health policy & services
Middle Aged
Socioeconomic Aspects of Health
Costs and Cost Analysis
Female
0305 other medical science
Research Article
Urban Areas
Adult
Low income
China
Asia
Adolescent
Inequality
media_common.quotation_subject
03 medical and health sciences
Health Economics
Humans
Urban Ecology
Poverty
Health Care Policy
Equity (economics)
Health economics
business.industry
lcsh:R
Ecology and Environmental Sciences
Biology and Life Sciences
Rural Areas
Health Care
People and Places
Earth Sciences
lcsh:Q
Health Expenditures
Rural area
business
Finance
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 19326203
- Volume :
- 11
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- PLOS ONE
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....2a05918d0e86b2ec7983cef36c457809