ArticleInquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financing
The Effect of China's National Essential Medicine Policy on Health Expenses: Evidence From a National Study.
Article in Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financing. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed.
- Longitudinal Trends in Medicine Supply, Price and Utilisation in Primary Care Facilities in Rural Southwestern China Under National Essential Medicines Policy (2012-2017): Disparities Across Facilities and Medicines.International journal of health policy and management · 2025Article
- Budget impact analysis of high-priced orphan medicinal products intended for the treatment of rare diseases in China: evidence from a densely populated metropolis of Chengdu.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Factors affecting the essential medicine prescribing behavior among general practitioners in Beijing, China: a cross-sectional study with structural equation model.BMC primary care · 2024Article
- Short- and long-term impacts of the National Essential Medicines Policy on drug availability, price, and usage in a deprived rural county in southwestern China: an interrupted time series analysis across 8 years.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Saying and doing are different things: a scoping review on how health equity is conceptualized when considering healthcare system performance.International journal for equity in health · 2023Article
- The Effect of the Referral System on the Accessibility of Healthcare Services: A Case Study of the Wuhan Metropolitan Development Zone.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Article
- Did the universal zero-markup drug policy lower healthcare expenditures? Evidence from Changde, China.BMC health services research · 2021Article
- Temporal trends and variation in out-of-pocket expenditures and patient cost sharing: evidence from a Chinese national survey 2011-2015.International journal for equity in health · 2021Article
- Director's Perceived Competition and Its Relationship with Hospital's Competitive Behaviors: Evidence from County Hospitals in China.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2021Article
- Article
- The Willingness for Downward Referral and Its Influencing Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study among Older Adults in Shandong, China.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Measurement of the Equality of the Drug Welfare Induction Level of Chinese Patients With Chronic Diseases in Gansu, Sichuan, Hebei, and Zhejiang Based on the Bivariate Theil-T Index Method.Frontiers in public health · 2020Article
- Is There A Non-Essential Hospitalization Day In Inpatients With Diabetes Under Medical Insurance? Evidence From An Observational Study In China.Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
To increase use of medical service across the country, the Chinese government has tried to improve equity in health care access and reduce patients' medical expenses. For this purpose, the National Essential Medicine Policy (NEMP) was introduced in 2009 to mandate the distribution of medicines to health care facilities at a low cost and without profit. This study aims to evaluate the effect of the essential medicine policy on average per-visit expenses for outpatient and inpatient services. The annual national surveillance system data covering all the grassroots-level primary health care facilities (PHFs) in 2675 counties and 31 provinces in China during 2008 to 2012 were used in this study. The 4-level hierarchical random effects models were utilized to deal with possible dose-response effects of the policy and possible variations of such effects at the provincial, county, and facility levels. Our research findings suggest that the NEMP had positive effects in reducing both outpatient and inpatient expenses at grassroots level, and the policy effects tended to be greater as the exposure time increased. This study provides implications on reforming China's health system and its medicine cost control policies.
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