Health insurance coverage, medical expenditure and coping strategy: evidence from Taiwan

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	Health insurance coverage, medical expenditure and coping strategy: evidence from Taiwan
	Fang, Kuangnan ; Shia, Ben-Chang ; Ma, Shuangge ; Fang KN(方匡南)
刊名	http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-12-442
	2012-12-03
关键词	EXPERIENCE CARE DEMAND
英文摘要	Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [2010221040]; Fujian Social Science Funds [2011C042]; National Bureau of Statistics Funds [2011LD002]; National Natural Science Foundation, China [71171001]; Background: The health insurance system in Taiwan is comprised of public health insurance and private health insurance. The public health insurance, called "universal national health insurance" (NHI), was first established in 1995 and amended in 2011. The goal of this study is to provide an updated description of several important aspects of health insurance in Taiwan. Of special interest are household insurance coverage, medical expenditures (both gross and out-of-pocket), and coping strategies. Methods: Data was collected via a phone call survey conducted in August and September of 2011. A household was the unit for survey and data analysis. A total of 2,424 households covering all major counties and cities in Taiwan were surveyed. Results: The survey revealed that households with smaller sizes and higher incomes were more likely to have higher coverage of public and private health insurance. In addition, households with the presence of chronic diseases were more likely to have both types of insurance. Analysis of both gross and out-of-pocket medical expenditure was conducted. It was suggested that health insurance could not fully remove the financial burden caused by illness. The presence of chronic disease and inpatient treatment were significantly associated with higher gross and out-of-pocket medical expenditure. In addition, the presence of inpatient treatment was significantly associated with extremely high medical expenditure. Regional differences were also observed, with households in the northern, central, and southern regions having less gross medical expenditures than those on the offshore islands. Households with the presence of inpatient treatment were more likely to cope with medical expenditure using means other than salaries. Conclusion: Despite the considerable achievements of the health insurance system in Taiwan, there is still room for improvement. This study investigated coverage, cost, and coping strategies and may be informative to stakeholders of both basic and commercial health insurance.
语种	英语
出版者	BMC HEALTH SERV RES
内容类型	期刊论文
源URL	[http://dspace.xmu.edu.cn/handle/2288/90130]
专题	经济学院－已发表论文
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Fang, Kuangnan,Shia, Ben-Chang,Ma, Shuangge,et al. Health insurance coverage, medical expenditure and coping strategy: evidence from Taiwan[J]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-12-442,2012.
APA	Fang, Kuangnan,Shia, Ben-Chang,Ma, Shuangge,&方匡南.(2012).Health insurance coverage, medical expenditure and coping strategy: evidence from Taiwan.http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-12-442.
MLA	Fang, Kuangnan,et al."Health insurance coverage, medical expenditure and coping strategy: evidence from Taiwan".http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-12-442 (2012).