Abstract: Using the data of China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) in 2012,2014,2016 and 2018,this paper makes an empirical study on the alleviating effect of medical insurance on relative poverty.The results show that medical insurance can effectively alleviate the relative poverty of residents.Under the relative poverty lines of 40%,50% and 60% of the median household income,the probability of residents falling into relative poverty by participating in medical insurance can be reduced by 3.9%,4.6% and 4.8%,respectively.The effect of medical insurance on alleviating relative poverty is heterogeneous:the eastern region is weaker than the central and western regions,the rural area is stronger than the city,and the middle-aged group is stronger than the young group.Mechanism analysis shows that residents can improve their health and increase non-medical consumption expenditure so as to reduce the risk of falling into relative poverty by participating in medical insurance,and the good education of residents can further strengthen the alleviating effect of medical insurance on relative poverty.In order to give full play to the effect of medical insurance in alleviating relative poverty of residents,we should further increase public finance to medical insurance,speed up national overall planning mechanism of medical insurance fund,and actively promote "Healthy China" strategy and the "aging-oriented" reform of the medical insurance system.

Key words: medical insurance, relative poverty, China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), "aging-oriented" reform