| Since the first pilot NCMS's in 2003, the New Cooperative Medical Scheme has offered catastrophic illness and other medical coverage to rural residents in China. Yet few studies have examined whether the scheme actually improves health status, utilization of health care services, and the burden of health care expenditures. This study employs data from three rounds of the China Health and Nutrition Survey to further examine this issue. For the analysis, I employ non-pooled and pooled Ordinary-Least-Squares regression and linear probability models. I also include an interaction term between the NCMS and distance from a medical facility to determine whether the effect of the NCMS differs by distance. I find that participating in the NCMS reduces the probability of being sick or injured in the past four weeks at most distances from a medical facility, and that as distance increases after approximately 8.6 minutes, so does the negative effect of NCMS participation on sick or injured in the past four weeks. The NCMS also appears to increase utilization of preventive care but does not increase utilization of other professional medical care. In two models, I find that the NCMS decreases the cost of preventive care at most distances from a medical facility, and that as distance from a medical facility increases after approximately 9.4 minutes, so does this reduction in costs for NCMS participants. However, in another model the NCMS appears to increase the cost of preventive care, counteracting the previous effect. NCMS participation reduces treatment costs in one pooled model, but the estimate is not very robust. This study finds no other indication that the NCMS reduces the burden of health care expenditures for rural residents. |
