Comparative analysis of financing mechanisms for dental services in the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China

The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive comparative analysis of the mechanisms for financing dental services through compulsory and voluntary health insurance systems in Russia and China in 2023-2024. To achieve this goal, a series of interrelated tasks were addressed, including the assessment of economic indicators, the study of population coverage and accessibility to services, and the development of recommendations for improving the Russian insurance system. A comparative analysis of the mechanisms for financing dental services through compulsory (CMI) and voluntary health insurance (VHI) systems in the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China reveals significant differences in efficiency, accessibility, and population coverage. The study examines the theoretical foundations of insurance medicine and analyzes the regulatory framework, statistical data, and economic indicators of the compulsory health insurance and voluntary health insurance systems in both countries using purchasing power parity (PPP) methods, service structure comparisons, and unified definitions of “coverage.” The results show that the Chinese model, which combines government regulation with market mechanisms, provides broader coverage and includes an expanded range of dental services, but orthodontics and implants are often excluded from the Healthy Oral Action Plan 2019-2025. In Russia, the compulsory health insurance system is limited to basic services, and voluntary health insurance remains inaccessible to most people due to its high cost. Special attention is paid to the digitalization of insurance processes in China, which reduces the processing time for applications to 2-3 days, as well as to subsidization mechanisms that reduce the financial burden on the population. The problems of both systems have been identified: the lack of funding for compulsory health insurance in Russia and the uneven distribution of resources in China. The practical significance of the work lies in the development of recommendations for adapting the Chinese experience to the Russian system, including the implementation of multi-level subsidies, digital platforms, and the optimization of tariff policies based on official data.