China’s Medical Insurance System Disproportionately Benefits the Wealthy, Study Finds

China’s state medical insurance system disproportionately benefits the wealthy while saddling the country’s poorest with the heaviest health care burdens, according to a national study.

The study, published recently in The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific, finds that the poorest fifth of Chinese households shoulders 37% of the nation’s disease burden but receives just 6.8% of medical insurance payouts in 2023, highlighting entrenched inequities in a system where fixed premiums and fragmented coverage policies inadvertently favor high-income earners.