Characteristics and implications of insurance-reimbursed inpatient care for gastric and oesophageal cancers in Anhui, China

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to identify characteristics and trends in insurance-reimbursed inpatient care (NRIC) for gastric and oesophageal cancers and inform evaluation of medical systems reform. METHODS: The study extracted routinely collected records of claims for reimbursement from the New Rural Cooperative Medical System (NRCMS) in Anhui Province, China and performed descriptive and regression discontinuity analysis. RESULTS: From 2013 to 2017, NRIC in terms of person-time per million people (pmp) increased 5.60 and 20.62 times for gastric and oesophageal cancers, respectively. Total expense per episode for gastric and oesophageal cancers increased from 1130.25 and 22 697.99 yuan to 12 514.98 and 24 639.37 yuan, respectively. The ratio of out-of-pocket expenses per inpatient care episode to annual disposable income per capita was 0.43 for gastric cancer and 0.91 for oesophageal cancer and decreased by 0.17 and 0.47, respectively. Regression discontinuity modelling revealed that, when controlled for disposable income, illiteracy rate and months from start time, the treatment variable was significantly associated with person-times of NRIC pmp (β=0.613, p=0.000), length of stay per 10(5) people (β=−52.990, p=0.000) and total expenses per NRIC episode (β=2.431, p=0.000). CONCLUSIONS: The study period witnessed substantial achievements in benefits to patients, inpatient care efficiency and equity. These achievements may be attributed mainly to the recent reforms launched in Anhui province, China.