The Impact of the New Rural Social Pension Insurance on the Utilization of Integrated Health and Elderly Care Services among Rural Older Adults: A PSM-DID Analysis Based on CHARLS Data

Main Article Content

Hongrui Feng
School of Pharmaceutical Business, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Zhongshan 528458, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.70267/esg2026.v3n2.4561

Keywords

new rural social pension insurance (NRSPI), integrated health and elderly care, health check-up, preventive health behavior, PSM-DID, rural older adults

Abstract

Against the backdrop of accelerated aging in rural China and the promotion of the “integrated healthcare and elderly care” policy, this paper aims to examine the impact of the New Rural Social Pension Insurance (NRLSI) on the use of preventive health services among rural elderly, in order to provide empirical evidence for coordinating pension security and health promotion policies. Using panel data from four waves (2013, 2015, 2018, and 2020) of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), the integration of urban and rural resident pension schemes in 2014 was treated as a quasi-natural experiment. The Propensity Score Matching-Difference in Differences (PSM-DID) method was employed to identify the causal effect of NRLSI enrollment on the health check-up behavior of rural elderly. Heterogeneity analysis was conducted across economic status and health conditions. Enrollment in the NRLSI significantly increased the probability of rural elderly undergoing health check-ups, with an average effect of approximately 4.6–4.7 percentage points. Heterogeneity analysis revealed that this promoting effect was stronger among high-income groups (about 11.1 percentage points) and more pronounced among elderly with chronic diseases (about 6.1 percentage points), whereas it was not significant among low-income groups and those without chronic diseases. This reflects the existence of a “threshold effect” in health investment, which is moderated by the intensity of individual health needs. The NRLSI not only serves as an income security tool but also effectively encourages rural elderly to adopt preventive health behaviors, although its effects vary across different groups. Future policies should enhance targeting and coordination to better leverage pension insurance in promoting healthy aging.

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Published
Apr 15, 2026
Issue
Vol. 3 No. 2 (2026)
Section
Research Articles
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How to Cite

Hongrui Feng. (2026). The Impact of the New Rural Social Pension Insurance on the Utilization of Integrated Health and Elderly Care Services among Rural Older Adults: A PSM-DID Analysis Based on CHARLS Data. Environment, Social and Governance, 3(2), 45-61. https://doi.org/10.70267/esg2026.v3n2.4561