Nantong University Reports Findings in Chronic Disease (Assessment of the satisfaction with public health insurance programs by patients with chronic diseases in China: a structural equation modeling approach): Disease Attributes – Chronic Disease

2021 NOV 03 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Disease Attributes - Chronic Disease is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating in Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “China has successfully sustained its universal health insurance coverage over the past decade. Although patient satisfaction has been recognized as an important indicator to measure the performance of insurance programs in China, there is a lack of evidence on how patients with chronic diseases are satisfied with China’s public health insurance programs and whether their satisfaction differs by type of insurance.”

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from Nantong University, “We aimed to fill the evidence gap. We established a hypothetical model that comprised patients’ awareness of insurance policies, the fulfillment of patients’ expectations of insurance benefits, patients’ perceived value of health insurance coverage, patients’ satisfaction with health insurance programs, patients’ complaints, and trust in health insurance programs. We performed a confirmatory factor analysis by using a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach to examine the hypothesized model. A model-testing survey in 10 tertiary hospitals was conducted between June and October 2018, with a valid sample of 922 insured patients with chronic diseases. The SEM model, with good fit indices, showed that patients’ awareness of health insurance policies, insurance program’s fulfillment of expectations, and patients’ perceived value of insurance coverage, positively predicted patient satisfaction (P < 0.01). The fulfillment of patients’ expectations of insurance benefits was the major predictor of satisfaction with health insurance (coefficient = 0.593, P< 0.001), while the patients’ perceived value of insurance coverage had the largest impact on their trust in health insurance (coefficient = 0.409, P< 0.01). Compared to patients with Urban-Rural Resident Basic Medical Insurance, Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance enrollees had a higher degree of satisfaction with insurance on average (P < 0.01). Despite differences in the degree of satisfaction, the main findings from the SEM were also proved by the multi-group analysis. Our findings highlight the importance of incorporating patients’ perceived value as part of the ongoing efforts to increase satisfaction with health insurance by patients, especially those who have chronic diseases.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Policymakers are also suggested to formulate evidence-informed reimbursement policies that meet patients’ expectations.”

For more information on this research see: Assessment of the satisfaction with public health insurance programs by patients with chronic diseases in China: a structural equation modeling approach. BMC Public Health, 2021;21(1):1886. BMC Public Health can be contacted at: Bmc, Campus, 4 Crinan St, London N1 9XW, England. (BioMed Central - http://www.biomedcentral.com/; BMC Public Health - http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcpublichealth/)

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Jinsong Geng, Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China. Additional authors for this research include Xiaowei Chen, Jianwei Shi, Haini Bao, Qian Chen and Hao Yu.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11947-7. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

The publisher of the journal BMC Public Health can be contacted at: Bmc, Campus, 4 Crinan St, London N1 9XW, England.

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