Table 1 Description of variables

CHE

The OOP medical expenditure was higher than or equal to 40% of non-food household expenditure; Yes = 1; No = 0

Household expenditure (Yuan)

Total consumption expenditure of a household

OOP medical expenditure (Yuan)

Total out-of-pocket medical expenditure of a household

Food expenditure (Yuan)

Total food consumption expenditure of a household

Lagged CHE

Did the household experience CHE 2 years ago? Yes = 1; No^a = 0

Income (Yuan)

The annual per capita household income

Lnincome

The natural logarithm of annual per capita household income

Household size

The number of household members

Inpatient

At least one household member received inpatient services in last year; Yes = 1; No^a = 0

Elderly members

At least one household member over 60 years old; Yes = 1; No^a = 0

Chronic diseases

At least one household member with chronic diseases; Yes = 1; No^a = 0

Supplementary medical insurance

At least one household member covered by supplementary medical insurance; Yes = 1; No^a = 0

Geographic location

East^a = 1, Central = 2, West = 3

Gender of household head

Female^a = 0; male = 1

Age

The age of household head

Education of household head

Illiterate^a = 1; Primary school = 2; Middle school = 3; High school and above = 4

Marriage of household head

Married = 1, Unmarried^a = 0

Employment status of household head

Employed = 1, Unemployed^a = 0

Self-assessed health status of household head

Healthy = 1; Unhealthy^a = 0

Smoking

Has the household head smoked in the past month? Yes = 1; No^a = 0

Drinking

Has the household head drunk more than three times a week in the past month? Yes = 1; No^a = 0