The impact of basic health insurance participation characteristics on the health of mobile populations: the mediating role of health service utilization behavior
Authors: Dong Bo 
Published: February 2024

ObjectivesIt is a pivotal element of China’s health system reform to improve the health security of health insurance for the mobile population. Achieving this objective is integral to the success of the reform. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of different enrollment characteristics of basic health insurance on the health of the mobile population and to investigate the mediating role of health service utilization behavior.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 135,372 migrants who participated in the 2018 China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS). Two indicators were employed in this study to assess the characteristics of the mobile population’s involvement in basic health insurance–namely, whether or not they participated in local health insurance and the type of health insurance in which they participated. The health status of the mobile population was measured using self-assessed health. Health service utilization behavior was divided into public health service utilization and medical service utilization. Multivariate ordered logistic regression was employed to examine the effect of health insurance on the health of the mobile population. Subsequently, the Bootstrap method was applied to analyze the mediating effect of health service utilization behavior in the relationship between health insurance and the health of the mobile population.ResultsHealth insurance had a positive impact on health, public health services, and health service utilization among the mobile population. However, enrollment in local health insurance (OR = 1.088, 95% CI = 1.043–1.134) and enrollment in Basic Medical Insurance for Urban Employees (OR = 1.178, 95% CI = 1.090–1.273) were more likely to be associated with higher levels of health and a greater likelihood of receiving health service utilization. The results of the mediating mechanism analysis indicated that health education, health records, family doctor contracting, receiving inpatient services, and being hospitalized locally all played a partially mediating role in the impact of the place of enrollment on health. Regarding the effect of the type of enrollment on health, three types of services–namely, health education, health records, and contracting with a family doctor–played a partially mediating role, while receiving inpatient services and being hospitalized locally did not exhibit a mediating effect. The effect of the type of participation on health is partially mediated.ConclusionBased on the impact of the different enrolment characteristics of basic health insurance on the health of the mobile population and the mediating role of health service utilization in this impact, furthermore, improvement of health insurance coverage for the mobile population should focus on improving the accessibility of health services, increasing the level of health insurance coverage, mitigating differences in treatment between the different insurance systems, and simplifying the process of transferring the health insurance relationships.