The Influence of Health Insurance on Patient’s Health Treatment Seeking Behavior—The Case of Rural China

Abstract

This paper assesses the effect of the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme (NRCMS) on rural patients’ health treatment seeking behavior in view of health care demand. Using data from 2004, 2006 and 2009 waves of China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), the paper estimates the effect of health insurance based on the method of Multinomial Logit Model. The result shows that enrollment in NRCMS significantly improves the utilization of formal medical service. Furthermore, we find that age plays significantly negative role in choosing formal heath service and gender has nothing to do with the choice of health treatment. High income significantly increases the utilization of private medical service. The severity of disease and chronic disease are significant factors in choosing formal medical service. While the NRCMS coverage is increasing, the insured are more likely to choose self-treatment.