Do differences in reported expenditures between household scanner data and expenditure surveys matter in health policy research?

Household scanner data are increasingly used to inform health policy such as sugar‐sweetened beverage taxes. This article examines whether differences in the level of reported expenditures between IRI Consumer Network scanner panel and the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) lead to important differences in demand elasticities and policy simulation outcomes. Using each dataset, we estimated a structural consumer demand system with seven food groups and a numéraire good. To compare the two datasets on a level playing field, we went to great lengths to ensure that the explanatory variables in the two demand models were comparably constructed. Results indicate that scanner data households are not consistently more price responsive than the general population and underreported Consumer Network expenditures do not seem to result in systematic differences in price elasticities. The income elasticities are uniformly lower in Consumer Network than in CES for higher income households because of the positive association between income and the degree of underreporting. This, however, has limited effects on uncompensated price elasticities and policy simulations because food budget shares are small for higher income households. Overall, these findings support continued use of household scanner data in health policy research related to effects of price (dis)incentives.     

绩效导向型公立医院财政补偿机制改革的国际经验与启示

本文介绍了典型国家公立医院按绩效补偿的经验：设定绩效目标,加强财政补助支出预算执行监控与评价,以产出为基础,按承担任务多少为公立医院安排财政拨款。分析了我国公立医院财政补偿机制中存在的补偿水平偏低、按编制人员和床位补偿方式补偿问题,并得出了完善公立医院财政补偿机制的启示：加强绩效目标管理,提高预算编制的科学化程度;开展预算绩效评价,做好项目和病种成本核算,明确补偿方式、补偿额度和补偿标准。     

公立医院财政预算项目绩效管理制度设计、实施与研究进展

本文主要采取文献分析、专家咨询和调查研究等方法,了解公立医院财政预算项目绩效管理的研究进展、制度设计和实施情况,发现公立医院预算绩效管理仍处于起步阶段,管理制度体系不健全,指标体系、信息系统、人才队伍建设等相对滞后。建议学术界积极开展相关研究,政府特别是中央层面应组织对项目绩效评价试点情况开展基线调查,了解各试点医院工作进展、问题和需要改进的方向,设计分项目绩效评价指标,赋予各类评价指标科学合理权重、分值,明确评价标准,形成统一的预算绩效管理制度框架,指导各医院推进预算绩效管理。     

Impact of the national routine vaccination program on 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine vaccination rates in elderly persons in Japan

Low vaccination rates with pneumococcal vaccine in elderly persons in Japan are thought to be related to low levels of public subsidy. We previously reported that larger subsidies were significantly associated with elevated vaccination rates with the 23-valent pneumococcal vaccine (PPV23) in elderly persons. Since 2014, the Japanese government has offered subsidies through a 5-year national routine vaccination program for elderly persons at 5-year age intervals. Here, we investigated the effect of the national routine vaccination program on PPV23 vaccination rates. PPV23 vaccination rates were calculated as follows: cumulative amount shipped to each municipality divided by the population aged ≥65 years. At the end of 2015, 2 years into the 5-year national immunization program, the estimated vaccination rate was 40.6%, which was significantly increased compared with former periods (p = 0.01). Our findings show that the national routine vaccination program plays an important role in increasing the vaccination rate of PPV23 in Japan.     

Experience of targeting subsidies on insecticide-treated nets: what do we know and what are the knowledge gaps?

Widespread coverage of vulnerable populations with insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) constitutes an important component of the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) strategy to control malaria. The Abuja Targets call for 60% coverage of children under 5 years of age and pregnant women by 2005; but current coverage in Africa is unacceptably low. The RBM 'Strategic Framework for Coordinated National Action in Scaling-up Insecticide-Treated Netting Programmes in Africa' promotes coordinated national action and advocates sustained public provision of targeted subsidies to maximise public health benefits, alongside support and stimulation of the private sector. Several countries have already planned or initiated targeted subsidy schemes either on a pilot scale or on a national scale, and have valuable experience which can inform future interventions. The WHO RBM 'Workshop on mapping models for delivering ITNs through targeted subsidies' held in Zambia in 2003 provided an opportunity to share and document these country experiences. This paper brings together experiences presented at the workshop with other information on experiences of targeting subsidies on ITNs, net treatment kits and retreatment services (ITN products) in order to describe alternative approaches, highlight their similarities and differences, outline lessons learnt, and identify gaps in knowledge. We find that while there is a growing body of knowledge on different approaches to targeting ITN subsidies, there are significant gaps in knowledge in crucial areas. Key questions regarding how best to target, how much it will cost and what outcomes (levels of coverage) to expect remain unanswered. High quality, well-funded monitoring and evaluation of alternative approaches to targeting ITN subsidies is vital to develop a knowledge base so that countries can design and implement effective strategies to target ITN subsidies.     

When Industrial Policies Conflict With Population Health: Potential Impact of Removing Food Subsidies on Obesity Rates

ObjectivesTo model the potential impact on obesity of removing butter, cheese, and sugar subsidies in the Canary Islands.MethodsA simulation model was applied based on a local data set of subsidies and retail prices (2007-2016), data on own-price elasticity estimates, and representative nutritional and health surveys. We estimated marginal obesity prevalence and population attributable fraction to assess the potential impact of the butter, cheese, and sugar subsidies intervention.ResultsThe intervention was predicted to avoid 10 363 obese adults over the study period, because of the reduction of the obesity prevalence by -0.7 percentage points. Overall, the predicted effect was largest in elderly and male groups, although females with a low socioeconomic status experienced the greatest decrease in the prevalence. The population attributable fraction predicted that 4.0% of population with obesity were attributable to the existence of these subsidies.ConclusionsThis analysis provides policy makers with the predicted impact on obesity of the butter, cheese, and sugar subsidies disposal, enabling them to incorporate this health impact into decision making across policy areas in the economic and health field. This study aims to model the potential impact on obesity of removing industrial subsidies for butter, cheese and sugar in the Canary Islands.     

The impact of a mosquito net voucher subsidy programme on incremental ownership: The case of the Tanzania National Voucher Scheme

The subsidisation of mosquito nets has been widely used to increase ownership in countries where malaria represents a public health problem. However, an important question that has not been addressed empirically is how far net subsidy programmes increase ownership above the level that would have prevailed in the absence of the subsidy (i.e., incremental ownership). This study addresses that gap by investigating the impact of a large‐scale mosquito net voucher subsidy––the Tanzania National Voucher Scheme (TNVS)––on short‐term demand for unsubsidised commercial nets, estimating a household demand model with nationally representative household survey data. The results suggest that, despite the TNVS using a categorical targeting approach that did not discriminate by wealth, it still led to a large increase in incremental ownership of mosquito nets, with limited evidence of displacement of unsubsidised sales. Although no evidence is found of an additional TNVS voucher decreasing the number of unsubsidised sales in the same period, results indicate that an additional TNVS voucher reduced the probability of purchasing any unsubsidised net in the same period by 14%. The findings also highlight the critical role played by social learning or campaign messaging in increasing mosquito net ownership.     

政府加大投入力度,投入机制尚未健全——省级疾控绩效考核应用之四

目的：通过对省级疾病预防控制中心财政投入状况的分析,来检验财政投入绩效考核指标的科学性、合理性和可操作性。方法：普查全国省级疾病预防控制中心2009年人员经费、公用经费、防治专项经费相关投入指标等。结果：2009年人均财政投入人员经费和公用经费分别为5.42万元和2.70万元,分别比2005年增加了79.5%和78.4%,每服务人口防治专项经费为2.23元,比2005年增加283.7%。机构总收入中财政投入所占比例从2005年的54.5%增加到67.2%,服务收入占比则从41.0%降到27.4%,但财政投入占疾病预防控制中心基本支出的比例平均只有59.3%。结论：省级疾病预防控制中心财政投入状况总体改善,但仍需健全;未来需要调整财政投入结构,着力增加人员和公用经费的投入。分析过程和结果表明,财政投入绩效考核指标是科学合理、可操作的,通过保障财政投入,可有效改善机构总体绩效。     

The effect of tax subsidies on high health care expenditure burdens in the United States

Previous analyses of families with high health care expenditure burdens have ignored the potentially mitigating effects of tax subsidies. This analysis uses data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to fill this gap. A range of health expenditure burden measures are computed, with and without tax subsidies, showing the impact that tax subsidies have on both the prevalence and magnitude of high health care spending burdens among the nonelderly.