Comparison of healthcare expenditures and self-payment among patients with lung cancer in Wenling City before and after implementation of diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) / 预防医学

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To investigate the healthcare expenditures and self-payment among patients with lung cancer in Wenling City before and after implementation of diagnosis-related groups (DRGs), so as to provide the evidence for controlling medical costs and relieving burdens of patients with lung cancer. @*Methods@#The basic data and healthcare expenditures of lung cancer patients that were definitively diagnosed from 2015 to 2019 and covered by medical insurance were captured from the cancer registration database of Wenling Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the database of chronic and specific diseases in Wenling Bureau of Medical Insurance. The changes of outpatient expenditures, inpatient expenditures and self-payments were compared before (2015-2016) and after implementation of DRGs (2018-2019) among lung cancer patients.@*Results@#Totally 4 947 lung cancer patients covered by medical insurance were enrolled in this study, including 3 052 males (61.69%) and 1 895 females (38.31%), with a mean age of (64.88±11.64) years. The annual mean healthcare expenditure was 56 675.85 Yuan per capita during the period between 2015 and 2016, in which 14.48% were outpatient expenditures and 85.52% were inpatient expenditures, and the annual mean healthcare expenditure was 38 702.94 Yuan per capita during the period between 2018 and 2019 (a 31.71% reduction as compared to that in 2015 and 2016), in which 24.49% were outpatient expenditures and 75.51% were inpatient expenditures. The proportions of outpatient expenditures, inpatient expenditures and total self-payments consisted of 25.38%, 32.49% and 29.67% of total healthcare expenditures in 2018 and 2019, which were significantly lower than those (50.84%, 50.96% and 50.95%, respectively) in 2015 and 2016 (χ2=13.741, P<0.001; χ2=7.015, P=0.008; χ2=9.340, P=0.002).@*Conclusions@#The annual mean healthcare expenditures per capita and the proportion of self-payment reduce among lung cancer patients covered by medical insurance following implementation of DRGs.