The impact of comprehensive medical system reform on rural household economic resilience

Introduction Strengthening the capacity of rural families to withstand health-related economic shocks is critical to consolidating poverty alleviation achievements and preventing large-scale relapse into poverty. However, existing studies pay limited attention to the resilience-shaping effects of the medical security system as a fundamental social policy, especially among rural households. Methods Using data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) from 2012 to 2022, this paper employs a single-period difference-in-differences method to empirically examine the impact of comprehensive medical system reform on rural household economic resilience and its underlying mechanisms. Results The results indicate that the reform significantly enhances rural household economic resilience, and this finding remains robust across a series of robustness checks. Mechanism analysis suggests that the reform may enhance resilience by reducing medical burden and alleviating financial vulnerability. Heterogeneity analysis further shows that these effects are more pronounced among high-income families and those with higher levels of social trust. Discussion This study expands the evaluative horizon of medical security system reforms in terms of economic outcomes and offers empirical evidence to support the deepening of medical reform and the prevention of poverty induced by illness.