A microscopic survey was carried out in 1994 to measure the proportion of user charges out of total treatment costs. Charges for non-insurance services and out-of-pocket payments for insurancecovered services are included in user charge
definition.
Data
on both inpatient and outpatient services rendered by four major clinical departments- internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and OB/GY (obstetrics & gynecology) - in general hospitals were collected. To see the difference in the rates by type
of
ownership, three different types of general hospitals were studied, a university hospital, a private hospital, and a public hospital.
The rate ranges from 23.0 percent in the case of pediatric inpatient, public hospital, to 93.5 percent in the case of OB-GY outpatient, private hospital. The rate is higher in outpatient services than inpatient services, which has to do with the
difference in regal coinsurance rates between insurance-covered outpatient service (55 percent) and inpatient service (20 percent). It is evident from the data that performance in terms of costs is affected by type of ownership.
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