Reasons for the increase of per capita reproductive medical expenses

Population aging refers to the process that the proportion of the elderly population to the total population is rising. The third national health service survey shows that with the aging of population and the acceleration of urbanization, the prevalence rate of urban and rural residents in China continues to rise and the disease burden continues to increase. Excluding seasonal effects, it is estimated that the number of cases in China increased by 730 million compared with 1993 in 2003. The aging of the population mainly leads to an increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases, multiple diseases, serious drug abuse and adverse drug reactions. Moreover, the health status of the elderly is worse than that of the general population, accompanied by many diseases, long course of disease, and greater possibility of disability and death, so the demand for medical and health services is higher, leading to an increase in medical expenses.

(2) Changes of disease spectrum

With the development of society, the change of people's lifestyle and behavior, the aggravation of environmental pollution and the aging of population, the spectrum of diseases has also changed, from infectious diseases to chronic non-infectious diseases such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, malignant tumors, respiratory diseases and endocrine diseases. These diseases often have a long treatment cycle, many complications and high treatment costs, which leads to an increase in medical expenses.

(3) The wide application of high-tech medicine.

With the development of science and technology, large-scale medical equipment such as color Doppler ultrasound, tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and digital photography, advanced diagnosis and treatment technologies such as endoscope technology, interventional therapy technology, radiofrequency ablation technology, hemodialysis, joint replacement and organ transplantation, and high-value medical consumables have been widely used in many large hospitals in China. The application of these advanced diagnostic equipment and medical materials has played a positive role in alleviating patients' pain, shortening treatment time and improving quality of life. However, due to the high technology content, the charge price is often high, which promotes the excessive growth of medical expenses.