Health service demands and insurance for migrant workers in cities with high speed economic growth: The case of Shenzhen

Objectives  To investigate the current situation, problems and insurance policies related to the health service demands of migrant workers in Shenzhen. Methods In this study 4,800 migrant workers were selected by multi-stage stratifying and clustering random sampling methods, and the health service demands, satisfaction, responsiveness and health insurance of migrant workers were surveyed. Results Shenzhen in 1980 because China’s first Special Economic Zone. The population of the city exploded from 30,000 to 14 million , and the GDP  dramatically increased from 1 billion to 680 billion in 2008. Migrant workers in Shenzhen tend to be young, with low educational levels and low income; The two-week morbidity rate for this group was 23.7%, and the morbidity rate for those with chronic diseases was 18.6%. The major type of medical institution visited was a community health service center (34.0%); The average outpatient clinic expenditure was 59.2 RMB for each visit, and the hospitalization expenditure was 3490 RMB for each visit�G The rate of un treat was 61.35%  and the main reason for not seeking treatment is because of self-diagnosis that the illness is not serious(53.6%), and the secondary reason is financial difficulty(25.2%). Approximately 50% of migrant workers have joined a medical insurance scheme enacted for laborers. The percentage of workers seeking medical treatment was clearly higher among those participating in an insurance plan when compared with those who did not have insurance.. Conclusion: Migrant workers are a disadvantaged group in cities with high speed economic growth. Their health service demands are high but their utilization levels are relatively low. Making health insurance more widely available to this population might help alleviate this problem..
Key words: urban manual laborers, health services, health insurance, Shenzhen