Does Elderly Chronic Disease Hinder the Sustainability of Borderline Poor Families’ Wellbeing: An Investigation From Catastrophic Health Expenditure in China

Objectives: Health and health expenditure caused by elderly chronic diseases are a global problem. As China has just lifted itself out of poverty in 2020, the sustainable development of Borderline Poor Families’ Wellbeing faces severe challenges. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to explore the impact of elderly chronic diseases on the catastrophic health expenditure of Borderline Poor Families. Methods: Based on screening 8086 effective samples from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) database and calculating catastrophic health expenditure, this paper uses two-part model and logit regression to discuss the impact of elderly chronic diseases on the sustainable development of Borderline Poor Families’ Wellbeing. Results: The results showed that stroke, cancer, and liver disease caused the most catastrophic health expenditures and had the greatest impact on the Borderline Poor Families’ Wellbeing. Conclusion: Therefore, in order to ensure the sustainable development of Borderline Poor Families’ Wellbeing, the government should strengthen the publicity of pre-prevention and post-healthcare of chronic diseases such as stroke, and combine pre-prevention policy with post-guarantee policy.