The Influence Of Medical Insurance On The Choice Of Medical Behavior And The Burden Of Medical Care For The Elderly In Urban And Rural Areas

Currently, China’s aging of population poses a challenge in terms of health care, since need for medical treatment of senior citizens is usually higher than the general population. China’s dual economic structure has created a huge diffidence in respect of elderly health level, conditions of medical treatment and quality of medical service in urban and rural areas. Increasing researches on elderly health and medical service is a significant method to cope with China’s aging of populations. This article aims to analyze the influences of medical insurances on elderly medical treatment choices and medical expenditures by Logit model, sample selection model and two-part model using statistics from CHARLS 2013. This article analyzes the influence of various medical insurances including commercial medical insurance on medical treatment choices of senior citizens above 65 year-old, national medical total expenditure and medical total expenditure paid by individuals. The result indicates that various medical insurances have various influences on medical treatment choices of senior citizens, national medical total expenditure and medical total expenditure paid by individuals. A publicly funded health care system in rural areas improves elderly initiatively for medical treatment, increases national medical total expenditure and lowers medical total expenditure paid by individuals and its proportion; commercial insurances and a publicly funded health care system for employees in urban areas also improves elderly initiatively for medical treatment, increases national medical total expenditure and medical total expenditure paid by individuals greatly and lowers its proportion; a publicly funded health care system for residents in urban and rural areas can improve elderly initiatively for medical treatment slightly and the elderly health expenditure and the individual pays health expenditure has increased, but not significantly. This article proposes that in order to improve elderly initiatively for medical treatment and lower the rate of medical total expenditure paid by individuals, it is indispensable for the government to propel health care reformation, modify differences between medical insurance systems in terms of medical device and medial treatment expenditure and ease elderly burden of medical treatment。At the same time to reduce the moral risk, prevent the waste of medical resources, optimize medical environment and ensure adequate rate of medical funds. In the constantly improve social medical insurance system of our country at the same time, give full play to the advantage of the management and operation of commercial insurance to improve the social insurance service quality and degree of specialization and ultimately build a equitable, equal, effective basic health care system to improve the health level of all people in this state.