# An empirical study on the impact of charitable medical care on residents’ health level

## TL;DR

This study shows that charitable medical care improves residents' health, especially for those with lower income and higher medical expenses.

## Contribution

The study provides empirical evidence on how charitable medical donations improve health through better medical access and quality.

## Key findings

- Charitable medical donations significantly improve residents' health levels.
- Medical service accessibility and quality mediate the impact of charitable care on health.
- Lower-income residents benefit more from charitable medical care.

## Abstract

Health is a crucial foundation for personal growth and the realization of a better life. As an organic part of China’s multitiered medical security system, charitable medical care has an important regulatory effect on the health level of residents. However, the improvement in residents’ health level by charitable medical care remains to be validated.

Based on the panel data of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS 2012–2020), this study establishes an evaluation index system for residents’ health level, empirically analyses the impact of charitable medical care on residents’ health level, and explores in-depth the transmission mechanism therein.

This research shows: First, an increase in the level of charitable medical donations can significantly improve the health level of residents. After conducting strict robustness tests, this conclusion still holds. Second, the accessibility and quality of medical services are the paths through which charitable medical care affects residents’ health level, and both play a mediating role. Finally, in the heterogeneity test, for groups of residents with higher levels of trust, lower annual household income, and higher total medical expenses, charitable medical care has a stronger promoting effect on their health level.

These research results provide empirical evidence and policy implications for the optimization and reform of China’s medical security system in the context of the Healthy China Strategy.