BACKGROUNDAccording to the regulations of the Chinese and Shanghai governments, migrant workers employed in Shanghai should all be entitled to Shanghai Migrant Worker Hospitalization Insurance (SMWHI) without premium and the vast majority should also have the New Rural Cooperative Medical System (NRCMS). This study aimed to examine the status of the coverage and utilization of health insurance among migrant workers employed in Shanghai.

METHODSQuantitative and qualitative research methods were employed in the study. A survey of 1020 migrant workers employed in Shanghai was conducted in 2010 with a structured questionnaire. Focus group discussions were held with respondents who were unable to maintain health insurance coverage through NRCMS or SMWHI. In-depth interviews were held with village heads and employers of the migrant workers, migrant workers who were hospitalized within the last year, and various individuals employed by the insurance agencies.

RESULTSThe study found that 72.9% and 36.5% of migrant workers were covered by NRCMS or SMWHI, respectively, while 16.7% of them had no health insurance. The coverage by NRCMS among migrant workers correlated significantly with education level and workplace, while the coverage by SMWHI correlated significantly with the length of employment in Shanghai and workplace. The qualitative results confirmed that migrant workers were the main group who were not covered by NRCMS, and the coverage by SMWHI was completely dependent upon the employers of the migrant worker. The results also showed that health insurance utilization among migrant workers was strongly limited by hospital location.

CONCLUSIONSWe observed that the status of health insurance among migrant workers was not accordant with theory, and that Chinese health insurance policy should be further reformed in order to realize full coverage and equal utilization of health insurance among migrant workers in China.

Adolescent ; Adult ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Insurance Coverage ; statistics & numerical data ; Insurance, Health ; statistics & numerical data ; utilization ; Male ; Transients and Migrants ; statistics & numerical data ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVEIn China, the coverage rate of work injury insurance was 23.2%in 2011, which was far lower than expected. The factors affecting the insurance's enrollment has very little known. This paper aims to study the existing coverage of work injury insurance scheme and its influencing factors.

METHODSThe data were collected from 2 836 workers who came from 9 industries in three cities of Zhejiang province using face-to-face questionnaire interview.

RESULTSOf these 2836 workers, the work injury insurance coverage was 50.1%, and 29.6% were not sure if they were covered or not. The results showed that the awareness of occupational disease and industrial injury insurance was helpful in increasing the coverage rate. Besides, the logistic regression analysis showed that in certain circumstances working population shared higher coverage of work injury insurance. For examples, male workers with local household registration and longer working years; people who had been informed about occupational risk factors, and thus gained more training on the issue; people who had exposed to occupational hazards or involved in administrative duties; and people who had already insured by a medical insurance scheme. In the contrary, the heavier family burden with longer working hours per week they needed, the lower possibility they joined the insurance scheme.

CONCLUSIONSThe coverage of work injury insurance is higher than native average level but much lower than the average international level. The awareness of occupational disease and injury insurance was closely associated with the coverage of work injury insurance. Therefore, it is imperative to popularize the knowledge on OHS for migrant workers, as well as to reinforce the supervision and management of the issue would have been an effective way to elevate the coverage rate of work injury insurance.

China ; Cities ; Health Services Needs and Demand ; Humans ; Insurance Coverage ; statistics & numerical data ; Male ; Occupational Diseases ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Transients and Migrants

Pneumoconiosis, an interstitial lung disease that occurs from breathing in certain kinds of damaging dust particles, is a major occupational disease in China. Patients diagnosed with occupational pneumoconiosis can avail of free medical treatment, whereas patients without a diagnosis of occupational diseases cannot not claim free medical treatment in most provinces from the government before 2019. This study aimed to analyze the priority of medical facility selection and its influencing factors among patients with pneumoconiosis. A total of 1,037 patients with pneumoconiosis from nine provinces in China were investigated. The health service institutions most frequently selected by the patients were county-level hospitals (37.5%). The main reason for the choice was these hospitals' close distance to the patients' homes (47.3%). The factors for the choice of health care institutions were living in the eastern region (
Adult ; Aged ; China ; Female ; Hospitals ; Humans ; Insurance Coverage ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Patient Acceptance of Health Care/statistics & numerical data* ; Pneumoconiosis/therapy* ; Rural Population ; Silicosis ; Smoking

BACKGROUND: Health policies in the Philippines have evolved in response to increasing health demands of older adults. However, there is a lack of research on equity among the ageing population in low-middle income countries. The objective of this study was to identify the trends in National Health Insurance Program (NHIP) coverage and healthcare utilization among older adults in the Philippines for the period from 2003 to 2017, during which NHIP expansion policies were implemented, focusing on reductions in socio-economic inequalities. METHODS: A literature search of policies for older adults and an analysis of four Philippine National Demographic and Health Surveys (2003, 2008, 2013, and 2017) with data from 25,217 older adults who were 60 years or older were performed. The major outcome variables were NHIP coverage, self-reported illness, outpatient healthcare utilization, and inpatient healthcare utilization. Inequalities in NHIP coverage and healthcare utilization according to wealth were evaluated by calculating the concentration index for individual years, followed by a regression-based decomposition analysis. RESULTS: NHIP coverage among older adults increased from 9.4 (2003) to 87.6% (2017). Although inequalities according to wealth quintile were observed in all four surveys (all P < 0.001), the concentration index declined from 0.3000 (2003) to 0.0247 (2017), showing reduced inequalities in NHIP coverage over time as observed for self-reported illness and healthcare utilization. NHIP coverage expansion for older adults in 2014 enabled equal opportunity for access to healthcare. CONCLUSION The passage of mandatory NHIP coverage for older Filipino adults in 2014 was followed by a reduction in inequality in NHIP coverage and healthcare utilization according to wealth.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Healthcare Disparities ; trends ; Humans ; Insurance Coverage ; trends ; Male ; Middle Aged ; National Health Programs ; legislation & jurisprudence ; statistics & numerical data ; Philippines ; Socioeconomic Factors

OBJECTIVES: The amount of medical utilization by Medical Aid recipients was 3.7 times that of patients with Korean Medical Insurance. This study aims to describe the surplus medicine and the medication-related utilization, and to determine factors contributing to surplus medicine. METHODS: Among those who used copayment-free Class I Medical Aid in 2005, 146,880 subjects who were > or =19 year-old and received >365 days medical treatment per year were studied with their case managers by conducting face-to-face interviews. The analytic methods were description, chi-square, t-tests, ANCOVA and multiple logistic regressions. RESULTS: Most subjects were female (68.6%), the elderly (62.5%), and the separated (61.6%), had an elementary graduation or less (74.8%), and had disabilities (33.2%). The percentage of subjects with surplus medicine was 18.5%. However, the percentage of females, the elderly, those with non-disabilities, the separated, the uneducated, those with a very poor perceived health status and those with an economical burden for medical treatment was 19.3%, 18.9%, 19.0%, 19.3%, 19.0%, 20.2% and 24.3%, respectively. For subjects with surplus medicine, averages for the number of used pharmacies, the pharmacy-visit days and the medication costs were 4.6 drugstores, 34.9 days and approximately 1,124 thousand Won. These values were higher than those without surplus medicine (4.4 drugstores , 33.8 days, and 1,110 thousand won, respectively). The odds ratios of the contributing factors to surplus medicine were female 1.11 (95% CI=1.07-1.14), the elderly 1.06 (95% CI=1.02-1.10), those with non-disabilities 1.08 (95% CI=1.05-1.12), the separated 1.14 (95% CI=1.10-1.18), the unmarried 1.12 (95% CI=1.07-1.18), the uneducated 1.03 (95% CI=1.01-1.08), those with a very poor perceived health status 1.04 (95% CI=1.01-1.08) and experiencing an economical burden for medical treatment 2.33 (95% CI=2.26-2.40). CONCLUSIONS: 18.5% of subjects had surplus medicine with a higher mean of medication cost. Therefore, health education and health promotion programs to prevent surplus medicine and to improve the appropriate usage of medication are necessary.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Analysis of Variance ; Confidence Intervals ; Female ; Health Services/*utilization ; Health Services Misuse/*statistics & numerical data ; Humans ; Insurance Coverage/*statistics & numerical data ; Insurance, Pharmaceutical Services/*statistics & numerical data ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Prescription Drugs/*economics ; Republic of Korea ; Risk Factors ; Time Factors ; Young Adult