Reports Outline Cardiovascular Research Study Findings from National Chengchi University (Top-up Design and Health Care Expenditure: Evidence From Cardiac Stents): Cardiovascular Research

2025 OCT 03 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Taiwan Daily Report -- Research findings on Cardiovascular Research are discussed in a new report. According to news reporting originating in Taipei, Taiwan, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Since 2006, Taiwan’s National Health Insurance (NHI) has covered the full cost of baseline treatment in cardiac stents (bare-metal stents, BMS). Still, it requires patients to pay the price difference for more expensive treatment (drug-eluting stents, DES).”

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from National Chengchi University, “Within this ‘top-up’ design, we study how hospitals responded to a 26% cut of the NHI reimbursement rate in 2009. In contrast with hospitals with no previous revenue from stent treatment, hospitals that were more revenue-dependent on cardiac patients reduced the likelihood of stent implantation by 21.2%, increased BMS usage per stent patient by 0.10 or 11.9% but not DES usage. Furthermore, while the average DES price remains insensitive to the rate cut across the whole sample, minor teaching hospitals previously more dependent on stent patients increased the DES price and therefore could recoup at least half of the revenue loss from the NHI rate cut in 2009-2010.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “In general, the rate cut was effective in reducing NHI expenditure without substantial changes in patient outcomes, although some minor teaching hospitals made moral hazard adjustments in response.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Top-up Design and Health Care Expenditure: Evidence From Cardiac Stents. China Economic Review, 2025;93. China Economic Review can be contacted at: Elsevier Science Inc, Ste 800, 230 Park Ave, New York, NY 10169, USA. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; China Economic Review - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/china-economic-review/)

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Hsienming Lien, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan. Additional authors for this research include Ginger Zhe Jin and Xuezhen Tao.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102489. 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.

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