Table 1.
Sample characteristics of hospitalized patients covered by the urban employee basic medical insurance, 2016–2019
| Variables | Before DIP reform, 2016–2017 | After DIP reform, 2018–2019 | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patient characteristics | |||
| Discharge cases, No | 1,721,889 | 2,106,654 | |
| Age, No. (%) | 0.000 | ||
| 18–64 | 1,032,761 (59.98) | 1,276,735 (60.60) | |
| 65–79 | 444,244 (25.80) | 520,388 (24.71) | |
| ≥ 80 | 244,884 (14.22) | 309,531 (14.69) | |
| Male sex, No. (%) | 783,263 (45.49) | 972,573 (46.17) | 0.000 |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index, mean (SD) | 0.77 (1.33) | 0.96 (1.52) | 0.000 |
| Hospital level, No. (%) | 0.000 | ||
| Tertiary | 1,431,706 (83.15) | 1,749,473 (83.05) | |
| Secondary | 233,494 (13.56) | 278,935 (13.24) | |
| Primary | 56,689 (3.29) | 78,246 (3.71) | |
| Hospital ownership, No. (%) | 0.000 | ||
| Public | 1,631,031 (94.72) | 1,990,426 (94.48) | |
| Private | 90,858 (5.28) | 116,228 (5.52) | |
| Patient outcomes, mean (SD) | |||
| All patients | |||
| Total costs per case (RMB) | 16,187.40 (19,901.94) | 16,657.84 (19,705.70) | 0.000 |
| Out-of-pocket payments per case (RMB) | 6373.27 (12,672.19) | 6524.58 (12,427.80) | 0.000 |
| Length of stay (days) | 9.68 (11.49) | 9.32 (11.27) | 0.000 |
| In-hospital mortality (%) | 1.39 (11.71) | 1.28 (11.25) | 0.000 |
| Age group: younger (18–64) | |||
| Total costs per case (RMB) | 15,521.60 (19,404.23) | 16,108.73 (19,430.28) | 0.000 |
| Out-of-pocket payments per case (RMB) | 6528.32 (12,518.91) | 6873.86 (12,360.19) | 0.000 |
| Length of stay (days) | 8.49 (10.07) | 7.96 (9.81) | 0.000 |
| In-hospital mortality (%) | 0.64 (7.96) | 0.54 (7.34) | 0.000 |
| Age group: young-old (65–79) | |||
| Total costs per case (RMB) | 17,885.85 (21,436.15) | 18,538.62 (21,498.90) | 0.000 |
| Out-of-pocket payments per case (RMB) | 6813.50 (13,717.18) | 6988.48 (13,618.09) | 0.000 |
| Length of stay (days) | 10.63 (11.80) | 10.26 (11.19) | 0.000 |
| In-hospital mortality (%) | 1.65 (12.74) | 1.51 (12.19) | 0.000 |
| Age group: oldest-old (80 +) | |||
| Total costs per case (RMB) | 15,921.15 (1884.18) | 15,770.71 (17,346.11) | 0.002 |
| Out-of-pocket payments per case (RMB) | 4926.84 (11,150.59) | 4301.29 (10,166.95) | 0.000 |
| Length of stay (days) | 12.97 (15.16) | 13.36 (15.21) | 0.000 |
| In-hospital mortality (%) | 4.10 (19.83) | 3.96 (19.51) | 0.010 |
DIP denoted the Diagnosis-Intervention Packet payment reform. Total costs and out-of-pocket payments were adjusted to 2019 considering inflation using annual consumer price index of China