Researchers from Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) Discuss Findings in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (The association between basic medical insurance and the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in China: a …): Lung Diseases and Conditions – Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

2025 NOV 18 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Researchers detail new data in Lung Diseases and Conditions - Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. According to news reporting originating from University Park, Pennsylvania, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “China has established universal basic medical insurance to reduce financial barriers to improve healthcare access. However, the role of medical insurance in addressing broader population health challenges remains understudied.”

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), “As China faces a significant challenge in managing the substantial burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), it is imperatively important to understand how medical insurance is associated with each step of the care for patients with COPD. We used individual-level patient data from the national Chinese ‘Happy Breathing’ Programme from 2018 to 2023. We applied region fixed effects models with modified Poisson regression to assess the association between being insured and reaching each care cascade step: (i) had ever undergone a pulmonary function test, (ii) had been diagnosed with COPD in the past, (iii) were currently on treatment for COPD, and (iv) had achieved COPD control. Stratified analyses were performed by local reimbursement policy, age group, sex, occupation, and residential location. A total of 8841 COPD patients were included in the analysis, with 98.7% covered by basic medical insurance, including 83.1% under the Urban and Rural Resident Basic Medical Insurance (URRBMI) and 15.6% under the Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI). Patients with URRBMI and UEBMI were more likely to receive a diagnosis compared with the uninsured, with modest risk ratios of 2.20 (95% CI: 1.01-4.78, p = 0.047) and 2.32 (1.06-5.05, p = 0.035), respectively. UEBMI was negatively associated with the treatment step (RR:0.73 (95% CI: 0.55-0.98), p = 0.034), but this effect became insignificant in regions where the prescribed medications for COPD were covered by insurance (RR:0.93 (95% CI: 0.80-1.08), p = 0.338). We also observed that residential location could modify the association between insurance status and being tested. We found that insurance status was not significantly associated with each step of the COPD care cascade, except for a modest association with a higher proportion diagnosed.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Our study underscores the need for optimizing the current medical insurance design, integrating public health interventions and clinical care delivery with insurance coverage, and harmonizing regional policies to enhance the effectiveness and equity of COPD care cascade outcomes.”

For more information on this research see: The association between basic medical insurance and the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in China: a cross-sectional study based on the national “Happy Breathing” Programme. BMC Medicine, 2025;23(1):619. BMC Medicine can be contacted at: Bmc, Campus, 4 Crinan St, London N1 9XW, England. (BioMed Central - http://www.biomedcentral.com/; BMC Medicine - http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmed/)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Zixuan Feng, Harold and Inge Marcus Dept. of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), University Park, PA, United States. Additional authors for this research include Yiwen Yu, Qiushi Chen, Zhuang Hao, Zhong Cao, Ke Huang, Ping He, Xingyao Tang, Cunbo Jia, Yong Li, Fang Fang, Jun Pan, Till Barnighausen, Simiao Chen, Ting Yang and Chen Wang.

Publisher contact information for the journal BMC Medicine is: Bmc, Campus, 4 Crinan St, London N1 9XW, England.

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