Health Affairs, 23, no. 6 (2004): 222-234 doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.23.6.222 © 2004 by Project HOPE	New Online   Senate Health Reform Bill   Rewarding Providers   Public Option Policy Brief   Health Reform & Abortion   Delivery System Reform

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Public Perceptions Of Private Health Care In Socialist China

We present the findings of a United Nations Development Programme–World Health Organization study commissioned by China’s Ministry of Health on use of public and private ambulatory care services in three Chinese provinces. We found much unmet medical need (16 percent), attributed mainly to the perceived high cost of care. Seventy-one percent had no health insurance (90 percent in rural and 51 percent in urban areas). For 33 percent, the last consultation was with a private practitioner. Widespread dissatisfaction with public providers (mainly high user fees and poor staff attitudes) is driving patients to seek cheaper but lower-quality care from poorly regulated private providers.

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