Research on the comprehensive pricing reform at county-level public hospitals in Jiangsu province

Objective To study the outcomes and problems of comprehensive medical pricing reform in Jiangsu. Methods The business operations, drug proportion and patient's expenses of 28 pilot hospitals in 15 counties of the province before and after the reform were compared, to learn the impacts of the pricing reform on both hospitals and patients. Results Medical revenue and medical service quantity of these hospitals during this period(January to June) of 2012—2014 maintain a fast growth, with lower drug proportions, and patients' expenditure unchanged.Compared with data of the same period in 2012, the total revenue growth rates of the hospitals in 2013 and 2014 were 13.4% and 11.1% respectively; and their drug proportions were 44.9% and 42.3%; and the expenditure growth rates for outpatient/emergency service were 5.9% and 3.1% respectively. Conclusions The reform has achieved an initial success.However the pricing system, needs to be further rationalized to build a better price formation mechanism, in line with relevant reforms. Key words: Jiangsu province; County-level public hospitals; Pricing reform; Subsidy mechanism; Outcomes