Influence of China's Overall Planning for Urban and Rural Medical Insurance on Citizen Health

Abstract

Objectives: We conducted this study to make an empirical test of the influence of China's overall planning for urban and rural medical insurance on citizen health. Methods: Using the data of the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey (CLDS) 2018, self-rated health was chosen as the proxy variable of citizen health status, and the obvious heterogeneity of the influence was measured by the ordered logit model. Results: After participating in the unified urban-rural medical insurance, the probability for citizens' self-rated health to increase by one or more levels grew by 0.21 times (OR = 1.21, p = .004). Further analysis revealed that after participating in the unified urban-rural medical insurance, the probability for males' self-rated health to increase by one or more levels grew by 0.23 times (OR = 1.23, p = .022); the probability for females' self- rated health to increase by one or more levels grew by 0.22 times (OR = 1.22, p = .045); the probability for rural citizens' self-rated health to increase by one or more levels grew by 0.25 times (OR = 1.25, p = .006); and, the probability for eastern China's citizens' self-rated health to increase by one or more levels grew by 0.28 times (OR = 1.28, p = .007). Conclusions: Participating in the unified urban-rural medical insurance program had a greater positive impact on the self-rated health of males than of females, on rural residents versus urban residents, and on eastern residents than central and western residents.