Analysis On Individual Account Of Health Insurance

Since the reform and opening up, the"public health"and"labor health"model during the period of the planned economy became increasingly unsuited to the reform of economic system. And the defects and problems became increasingly intensified and prominent. In this context, since the eighties of the twentieth century the Government has begun to explore new medical insurance system. In 1993, it is the first time to propose the implementation of "social pooling and individual accounts". Then the national pilot began. Until 1998, the health insurance model of the combination of"social pooling and individual accounts"was formally established and widely implemented in China. However, since 2003, some scholars began to doubt the existence of individual accounts of health insurance. There are two opposite views. One view is that individual account has played an active role since the implementation and should be retained. The other view is that individual account doesn't work well and should be abolished. The controversy has attracted the attention of many scholars and continued ever since.This article discusses the original intention of setting up individual accounts at first, such as achieving personal vertical accumulation, controlling medical cost, curbing unreasonable rise of drug prices. Then describe the positive roles played by individual account, such as emphasizing the individual responsibility, reducing the burden of the government and enterprises, accomplishing the smooth transition of the old and the new system. Then it is discussed that the defects and problems caused by the individual account. Through the analysis and comparison of the pros and cons of the system, the author's view is that the individual account does more harm than good and should be abolished. In addition, by comparing the differences with the system of Singapore, it is further clarified why our system fails. Finally, the author gives some targeted recommendations.The article's innovations lie in:First, the research static is quite new, coming from the latest statistics released by National Bureau of Statistics Yearbook, research reports, and related provincial and municipal government data available online, and making the research more credible. Second, the analysis of problems is more comprehensive. In this paper, the benefits and disadvantages of existing system have been carried out a comprehensive analysis. And the involved issues of the two aspects have been basically discussed.