Research on the Influence of Medical Insurance on Technological Innovation in Medical Industry：Evidence from Serious Illness Insurance in China

Abstract

Abstract Can medical insurance, as an incision, promote technological innovation in the medical industry against the backdrop of China's high-quality development of medical insurance? Using serious illness insurance as an example, this paper employs the multi-period double difference method to assess the impact and mechanism of serious illness insurance on medical device innovation, based on R&D investment data for medical device industry in 29 Chinese provinces from 2007 to 2019. The study found that serious illness insurance considerably increased the development of medical devices. According to a mechanism study, serious illness insurance raises patients' demand for medical care, which increases the number of people who seek treatment, the number of people who stay in hospitals, the number of outpatient visits, and the market for medical devices. According to the adjustment effect, the more beds accessible to regional hospitals and the lower the level of market competition, the more overtly serious illness insurance encourages medical device innovation. This study provides policy insight for supporting high-quality coordinated growth of medical security and pharmaceutical services, as well as a deeper understanding of the logical relationship between medical insurance and technological innovation in the medical industry.