Research on Improvement of Health Status and Health Inequalities among Older Adults in Urban and Rural China by Centralized Drug Volume-based Purchasing Policy
Objective:Clarify the correlation between the Centralized Drug Volume-based Purchasing Policy,changes in physical&mental health status,and health inequalities among the older adults,as well as exploring whether this correlation differs between urban and rural areas so as to determine the role played by the total cost of healthcare.Methods:Based on CFPS 2018 and 2020,DID and PSM-DID were used to verify the impact of the Centralized Drug Volume-based Purchasing Policy on physical&mental health status and health inequalities of the elderly in urban and rural China.Three-step method and Sobel test were used to verify the mediating effect of total medical costs.Results:The pilot effect of the Centralized Drug Volume-based Purchasing Policy was first realized among the urban elderly population,promoting their physical and mental health through the intermediary mechanism of reducing the total medical costs,but for the time being did not show a significant correlation with health inequalities within this group.Among the rural elderly population,none of the three dependent variables was significant(P>0.1).Conclusion:The underlying logic of the Centralized Drug Volume-based Purchasing Policy is right,but its future reform should focus on the rural elderly group,and consider the fairness of the effect within the group and between urban and rural areas,so as to improve the health level of the whole society in the longer term.
Centralized Drug Volume-based Purchasing Policygeriatric healthhealth inequalitiesurban-rural disparities