Medical Insurance and Healthcare Utilization of the Elderly in China: Evidence from a Multilevel Perspective

Jianlin Niu, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Yaqiang Qi, Renmin University of China

China has made substantial progress in improving its medical insurance program during the recent decade. Yet, important variations persist in the feature of insurance coverage at both individual and regional levels. This is potential to induce inequality in health care utilization and health outcome. In this study, we use multilevel models to investigate the regional and individual differences in the healthcare practices and the related impacts of health insurance characteristics. Our preliminary results suggest that despite the rapid expansion of medical insurance schemes during the past decade, the insurance coverage still differs substantially at county level even today. The resource of medical insurance is significantly related with individual healthcare practices.