Emeprical Studies on the difference between urban and rural of different areas in China

ObjectiveThe paper examines whether out-of-pocket health care expenditure
also has regional discrepancies, comparing to the equity between urban and
rural areas, and across households.MethodSampled data were derived from
Urban Household Survey and Rural Household Survey data for 2011/2012 for
Anhui Province, and 11049 households were included in this study. The
study compared differences in out-of-pocket expenditure on health care
between regions (urban vs. rural areas) and years (2011 vs. 2012) using
two-sample t-test, and also investigated the degree of inequality using
Lorenz and concentration curves.ResultApproximately 5% and 8% of total
household consumption expenditure was spent on health care for urban and
rural populations, respectively. In 2012, the wealthiest 20% of urban and
rural population contributed 49.7% and 55.8% of urban and rural total
health expenditure respectively, while the poorest 20% took only 4.7% and
4.4%. The concentration curve for out-of-pocket expenditure in 2012 fell
below the corresponding concentration curve for 2011 for both urban and
rural areas, and the difference between curves for rural areas was greater
than that for urban areas.ConclusionA substantial and increasing gap in
health care expenditures existed between urban and rural areas in Anhui.
The health care financing inequality merits ample attention, with need for
policymaking to focus on improving the accessibility to essential health
care services, particularly for rural and poor residents. This study may
provide useful information on low income areas of China.