Table 1.

Description of dependent and independent variables

	Description	Indicators/survey questions
Dependent variable
Net benefit of inpatient care	the absolute amount of reimbursement received(yuan RMB)	Subtract individual payment from the total hospitalization expense
Independent variables
Gender	=1 if male; =2 if female.
Age	=1 if≤45; =2 if 45–59; =3 if ≥60.
Marital status	=1 if married; =2 if divorced/single/separated/other.	Question: What is your present marital status?
Educational level	=1 if under primary school; =2 if junior; =3 if high school or above.	The highest degree of education received or a degree equivalent to an existing cultural level
Chronic	=1 if no chronic; =2 if one or multiple chronic.	Question: Have you been diagnosed with any chronic diseases by a doctor? Chronic diseases listed subsequently.
Distance to the medical institution	=1 if < 1 km; =2 if≥1 km.	Question: How many kilometers is the nearest medical institution from your home?
Willingness to seek medical services	=1 if primary hospital(village/private clinics/community health service station/township hospital/community health service center); =2 if general hospital or TCM hospital (traditional Chinese medicine)	Question: For general diseases, what kind of medical institutions do you and your family members go to?
Health status (EQ-VAS: self-reported)	=1 if very poor(0–20); =2 if poor(21–40); =3 if medium(41–60); =4 if good(41–80); =0 if excellent(81–100).	Health status on a 20 cm vertical scale with end points of 0 and 100 was asked on the day of the interview.
Employment status	=1 if employment; =2 if retirement; =3 if student or unemployment.	Question: What is your present employment situation? [conditions listed below, read one by one]
Per capita income	Household per capita income over the last year(yuan RMB)