Effect of the catastrophic medical insurance on household catastrophic health expenditure: evidence from China.

Objective: China launched an innovative program of catastrophic medical insurance (CMI) to protect households from catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) and impoverishment. This article assesses the effect of CMI on relieving CHE and impoverishment from catastrophic illnesses in urban and rural China.

Method: In total, 8378 cases are included in the analysis.