Impact of the Policy on National Sport Consumption Pilot Cities on Residents' Health ExpendituresAn Empirical Analysis Based on the Difference-in-Differences Model

Based on the National Sport Consumption Pilot City Policy as a quasi-natural experiment, a difference-in-differences model is employed to study the impact of the policy on residents' health expenditures. The research results indicate that:the National Sport Consumption Pilot City Policy significantly reduces health expenditures in the pilot cities, with an average decrease of approximately 0.542% compared to non-pilot cities; increasing residents' sports products consumption is a crucial pathway for the policy to reduce health expenditures; the impact of National Sport Consumption Pilot City Policy on residents' health expenditures shows the heterogeneity among different types of cities, with the policy's effects being more pronounced in non-capital cities. Therefore, it is necessary to expand the range of the pilot cities, formulate different regional sports consumption policies, and enhance residents' sport consumption levels in order to reduce residents' health expenditures and achieve sustainable development of the healthcare system.