Chinese hospital reforms lower tuberculosis treatment costs

The Chinese government launched a comprehensive public hospital reform in December 2016 to change how hospitals manage costs for patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

This policy introduced a zero-markup drug policy and adjusted the price compensation mechanism for medical services. Researchers analyzed healthcare records from Luzhou City, a city in western China, to track how these changes affected patient spending between 2015 and 2018. The study found that the reform successfully lowered the median total cost per visit for tuberculosis patients.

It specifically reduced the median expenses for medicines and materials, as well as the median out-of-pocket costs that patients had to pay directly. While these costs fell, the median price for medical services per visit actually increased during the same period. The researchers noted that while the reform optimized the cost structure, certain limitations remained. Weak price assessment and compensation mechanisms for medical services hindered the long-term impact of the policy.

Additionally, out-of-pocket spending did not reach the government's original targets, and differences in results across various insurance groups suggested that some patients might still face unequal benefits.