Study on regional equity of government health expenditure in China / 中国卫生政策研究

ABSTRACT

Objective:This article is to calculate and analyze the equalization of government health expenditure inof different provinces and areas in the past decade. Methods: To calculate the Gini Coefficient and Theil Index in of different provinces and areas for government health expenditure in the past decade , and to explore potential reasons .. Results:The Gini Coefficient declined substantially in the past years ,which decreased from 0.31 in 2003 to 0.11 in 2013.The Theil Index declined substantially in the past years , which decreased from 0.0270 in 2003 to 0.0004 in 2013 .Eastern provinces were in advantaged positions in the past decade but the degree of advantage was declining , central provinces were in disadvantaged positions in the past decade but the degree of disadvantage was declining , while western provinces were in relatively disadvantaged positions before 2006 but became advantaged since 2009 . Conclusions:The regional equity of government health expenditure for different provinces and areas has been im -proved in the past decade especially for implementing the equalization of public health policy .Recommendations:The central government of China should increase transfer payment into some provinces with of large population like Hebei, Shandong , Guangdong , Hunan and Henan to increase the regional equity of government health expenditure .