Effect analysis of the impact of health service supply on life expectancy

The development of public health is closely related to life expectancy, and population aging and changing patterns of disease prevalence pose significant challenges to further improving life expectancy in China. Exploring the impact of the healthcare industry’s development on changes in life expectancy is significant for optimizing healthcare resource allocation and improving the health level of residents. This study took the period from 2000 to 2020 as the research timeframe and used data from the Chinese Population Census of 2000, 2010, and 2020 and the China Health Statistics Yearbook of 2001, 2011, and 2021. Province-level relevant indicators were selected to construct a three-period panel dataset from China, and an individual fixed-effects model was applied to analyze the impact of the healthcare sector’s development on life expectancy. The life expectancy of women in provincial areas was higher than that of men, and the sex gap in life expectancy widened over time. A decrease in the proportion of provincial health expenditure to total expenditure had a negative impact on life expectancy in China (P < 0.05), based on the control of population size, illiteracy rate, and the proportion of people aged 65 and above.A decrease in the average medical treatment cost per outpatient visit in comprehensive hospitals had a positive effect on life expectancy (P < 0.05). Additionally, the number of hospital beds per thousand people had a significant positive effect only on life expectancy of women (P < 0.05). The proportion of healthcare expenditure to total expenditure is a fundamental factor affecting life expectancy, and the supply level of hospital beds demonstrates a sex-based difference in life expectancy.The decrease in outpatient costs significantly impacts the improvement of life expectancy.