Welfare consequences of access to health insurance for rural households: Evidence from the New Cooperative Medical Scheme in China
评估了中国新型农村合作医疗制度对农村家庭的福利价值，发现每元政府成本带来的福利在0.79到0.97元之间，保险功能仅占总福利的20%，提示需要提高保障水平。
This study evaluates the welfare benefits of the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS), the main public health insurance plan for the rural population in China. The findings show that the value of the NCMS to recipients is slightly lower than the government's costs of implementation, ranging from 0.79 to 0.97 per RMB of the resource cost of the NCMS. The estimated moral hazard costs are low compared with the total benefits. It is also estimated that the benefits originating from the NCMS's insurance function only constitute 20% of the total benefits, suggesting a need for higher generosity levels among rural households. Our results shed new light on the welfare effects of access health insurance among low- and middle-income households.