THE IMPACT OF THE INCOME PER CAPITA IN CHINESE FAMILY ON MEDICAL EXPENDITURE
Author(s)
He X
Southwestern University of Finance & Economics, CHENGDU, China
Presentation Documents
OBJECTIVES: In this paper, we use the panel data of China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) in 2000, 2004 and 2006 to study the impact of the income per capita on the medical spending. METHODS: Our analysis can be chiefly divided into two respects, the wealth effect of income and the depreciation effect of health capital. We use the theoretical model of Grossman's health capital theory to analysis the relationship between income and medical expenditure. Then we use the 2 part model to empirical research the wealth effect and the depreciation effect of income separately. We also use instrumental variable to solve the endogenous problem. RESULTS: According to the study, the depreciation effect of health capital brought by the relatively lower income is not significant, but the income levels have significantly positive wealth effect on medical spending. The low-income people are inferior in terms of wealth and have heavier medical burden than high-income people. CONCLUSIONS: This result indicates that the low-income people may face shortage of health capital input, especially in poor rural area. Thus, the government should increase the low-income people’s medical input and improve their medical security system.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2014-09, ISPOR Asia Pacific 2014, Beijing, China
Value in Health, Vol. 17, No. 7 (November 2014)
Code
PHP36
Topic
Economic Evaluation
Topic Subcategory
Cost/Cost of Illness/Resource Use Studies
Disease
Multiple Diseases