Nip it in the bud: the impact of China’s large-scale free physical examination program on health care expenditures for elderly people
Abstract In this study, we take China’s large-scale free physical examination program for people aged 65 and above as an entry point and use data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) between 2011 and 2018 to construct a staggered difference-in-differences (DID) model to e...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer Nature
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-04295-5 |
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| author | Qingshan Ma Yuanmeng Zhang Feng Hu Haiyan Zhou Hao Hu |
| author_facet | Qingshan Ma Yuanmeng Zhang Feng Hu Haiyan Zhou Hao Hu |
| author_sort | Qingshan Ma |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract In this study, we take China’s large-scale free physical examination program for people aged 65 and above as an entry point and use data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) between 2011 and 2018 to construct a staggered difference-in-differences (DID) model to examine whether the free physical examination program affected elderly individuals’ health care expenditures. We find that the program increased the probability of attending a physical examination by 4.3%, reduced overall medical expenditures by 28.4%, and reduced hospitalization costs by 22.1% for persons over 65 years of age but did not have a significant effect on outpatient expenditures. The program produces results through two mechanisms: disease prevention and disease screening. The program is more effective in reducing medical expenses for older adults who live in rural areas, are younger, have lower educational levels, and have chronic illnesses. The benefits of the program’s implementation far outweigh its costs. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3bd9a145ea59482fac6067d61defeaca |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2662-9992 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-3bd9a145ea59482fac6067d61defeaca2025-08-20T02:36:32ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922025-01-0112111610.1057/s41599-024-04295-5Nip it in the bud: the impact of China’s large-scale free physical examination program on health care expenditures for elderly peopleQingshan Ma0Yuanmeng Zhang1Feng Hu2Haiyan Zhou3Hao Hu4School of Economics, Xiamen UniversitySchool of Public Policy & Management, Tsinghua UniversityInstitute of International Business and Economics Innovation and Governance, Shanghai University of International Business and EconomicsGraduate School, Nueva Ecija University of Science and TechnologySchool of Economics, Shanghai UniversityAbstract In this study, we take China’s large-scale free physical examination program for people aged 65 and above as an entry point and use data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) between 2011 and 2018 to construct a staggered difference-in-differences (DID) model to examine whether the free physical examination program affected elderly individuals’ health care expenditures. We find that the program increased the probability of attending a physical examination by 4.3%, reduced overall medical expenditures by 28.4%, and reduced hospitalization costs by 22.1% for persons over 65 years of age but did not have a significant effect on outpatient expenditures. The program produces results through two mechanisms: disease prevention and disease screening. The program is more effective in reducing medical expenses for older adults who live in rural areas, are younger, have lower educational levels, and have chronic illnesses. The benefits of the program’s implementation far outweigh its costs.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-04295-5 |
| spellingShingle | Qingshan Ma Yuanmeng Zhang Feng Hu Haiyan Zhou Hao Hu Nip it in the bud: the impact of China’s large-scale free physical examination program on health care expenditures for elderly people Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| title | Nip it in the bud: the impact of China’s large-scale free physical examination program on health care expenditures for elderly people |
| title_full | Nip it in the bud: the impact of China’s large-scale free physical examination program on health care expenditures for elderly people |
| title_fullStr | Nip it in the bud: the impact of China’s large-scale free physical examination program on health care expenditures for elderly people |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nip it in the bud: the impact of China’s large-scale free physical examination program on health care expenditures for elderly people |
| title_short | Nip it in the bud: the impact of China’s large-scale free physical examination program on health care expenditures for elderly people |
| title_sort | nip it in the bud the impact of china s large scale free physical examination program on health care expenditures for elderly people |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-04295-5 |
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