AUTHOR=Li Ding , Xiao Han , Ma Shuang , Zhang Jiangxue TITLE=Health Benefits of Air Quality Improvement: Empirical Research Based on Medical Insurance Reimbursement Data JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health VOLUME=10 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.855457 DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.855457 ISSN=2296-2565 ABSTRACT=

Measuring the health benefits of air quality improvement is a new perspective for evaluating government investment in pollution control. Improving air quality can reduce the burden on medical insurance funds and patients themselves; however, patients with higher reimbursement rates are more affected by air quality changes. This study calculated health benefits using medical insurance reimbursement data from a sample city in China. The results show that for every 10 μg/m3 decrease in PM2.5, patients' average medical cost will decrease by CNY 1,699 (USD 263.6), and the loss of ordinary working and living time will decrease by 1.24 days. PM2.5 has a more significant impact on patients with chronic respiratory diseases and inpatients with circulatory diseases. Suppose the city's annual PM2.5 concentration drops to the national standard of 35 μg/m3. In that case, it will bring more than CNY 1.28 billion (USD 198 million) in health benefits, accounting for 18% of the city's annual investment in environmental protection.