Person:
Hou, Xiaohui

Health, Nutrition and Population, East Asia and Pacific Region, World Bank
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Fields of Specialization
health economics; social safety nets; poverty
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Health, Nutrition and Population, East Asia and Pacific Region, World Bank
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Last updated: June 4, 2024
Biography
Hou, Xiaohui is a Senior Economist in the World Bank.  Joined as a Young Professional, she has since worked in Human Development department and Poverty Reduction and Economic Management department across the East Europe and Central Asia region, the South Asia region, and most recently the East Asia and Pacific region.  She also spent a number of years in the World Bank Institute, the capacity building arm of the World Bank, focusing on face to face training and network development.  Her fields include health economics, social safety net, labor economics and impact evaluation. She has published a dozen of papers in both economics and medical peer reviewed journals. She also teaches as a visiting scholar. A Peking University graduate, she obtained her Ph.D. in the Health Services and Policy Analysis and a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master’s degree in Health Policy and Administration from the Washington State University. 
Citations 44 Scopus

Publication Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Publication
    Targeted or Untargeted? The Initial Assessment of a Targeted Health Insurance Program for the Poor in Georgia
    (2011) Hou, X.
    The government of Georgia launched a Medical Insurance Program, a targeted health insurance program, in June 2006 to provide health insurance to the poor. Using administrative data from June 2006 to December 2006, this paper estimates the initial impact of the Medical Insurance Program relative to an untargeted health insurance program and assesses whether the benefits have reached the poorest among those eligible. The paper presents two main findings: first, the Medical Insurance Program has significantly increased beneficiaries' utilization of public health insurance for acute surgeries and inpatient services; and second, the benefits have reached the poorest among the beneficiaries. However, the findings are only applicable to the first six months of implementation and more analysis is required to understand the dynamics and long term impact of the reform.
  • Publication
    An Evaluation of the Initial Impact of the Medical Assistance Program for the Poor in Georgia
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-04) Chao, Shiyan; Hou, Xiaohui
    As part of the recent health reform effort, the government of Georgia launched a Medical Assistance Program in June 2006 to provide health insurance to its poor population. So far the program covers slightly over 50 percent of the poor and provides benefit coverage for outpatient and inpatient care. This paper estimates initial impact of the Medical Assistance Program and assesses whether the benefits have reached the poorest among those eligible, using utilization data from June 2006 to December 2006. Based on the analysis using a regression discontinuity design and a three-part model, the paper presents two main findings. First, the Medical Assistance Program has significantly increased utilization of acute surgeries/inpatient services by the poor. Second, the benefits have successfully reached the poorest among the poor. These two findings indicate that government efforts to improve the poor's access to and utilization of health services are yielding results. The paper emphasizes that the initial dramatic increase in surgeries must be interpreted with caution, given the possible misclassification or misreporting of acute surgeries in the data. The paper also stresses the need to continue monitoring implementation of the Medical Assistance Program and further improve program design, particularly the targeting mechanism, to achieve better efficiency, effectiveness and overall equity in access to health care services.