Abstract
OBJECTIVE: An understanding of the levels and trends of medical cost is made for breast cancer patients with different medical insurance coverages in China (mainland), in an attempt to offer a clue to further control the costs. METHODS: The inpatient payments of 9,716,180 breast cancer patients spent in medical institutions of different types and grades during 2011-2015 were collected from the inpatient medical record home page (IMRHP) dataset. The data were then processed with SAS (Version 9.3; SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA). Indicators like means, increase (decrease) percentages were used to descriptively analyze the average hospitalization expense of each time (AHEET) and its trends of breast cancer patients with different medical insurance coverages treated in medical institutions of different types and grades. RESULTS: In 2011-2015, the AHEET borne by breast cancer patients in China had been constantly increasing. Specifically, the self-pay inpatients had the largest increase, inpatients covered by Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) and Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance (URBMI) were the next, and those covered by New Rural Cooperative Medical System (NRCMS) had the least increase. Breast cancer inpatient treated in public hospitals had quite greater increase and higher expenditure level than those in private hospitals. The AHEET borne by the inpatients in Grade 3 hospitals had greater increase and higher cost than those in Grade 2 hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: The inpatient payments of breast cancer patients will be wisely controlled by reducing the number of self-pay inpatients, taking advantage of restriction mechanism of the medical insurances, and promoting healthy competition between private hospitals and public hospitals. The economic burden imposed on the society by breast cancer can be relieved through further control of inpatient payments of UEBMI- and URBMI-covered breast cancer patients and of Grade 3 hospitals.