Aftershock: Sentiment and Content Analysis of Weibo Posts about 2023 Health Insurance Reform in the Post Zero-Covid Context

This study investigates the public sentiment and thematic content of Weibo posts regarding the 2023 health insurance reform in China, a topic of heightened discussion in the aftermath of the country's zero-Covid policy. Utilizing a data-driven approach, the research analyzes netizens' reactions using phrase-level sentiment analysis and topic analysis techniques. The paper identifies the financial strains imposed by zero-Covid as a primary driver behind the reform, which led to reduced benefits and increased dissatisfaction among the population. Methodologically, the study employs Support Vector Regressor for sentiment analysis and Word2Vec for content analysis, with data sourced from an open-source Weibo crawler. The findings reveal a discrepancy in sentiment between official and unofficial accounts, pinpoint the sources of negative sentiment, and highlight the interconnection with the zero-Covid policy. The research provides insights into the public's perception of government policies during a transitional period in China's health insurance landscape.