OBJECTIVE A rapid survey was carried out in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar District of Punjab state in India to ascertain health seeking behavior and out-of-pocket health expenditures. METHODS Using multistage cluster sampling design, 1,008 households (28 clusters x 36 households in each cluster) were selected proportionately from urban and rural areas. Households were selected through a house-to...

The results of previous Iranian studies on the protective effect health insurance catastrophic expenditures (CHE) are inconsistent. Therefore, aim this meta-analysis was to summarize all existent evidence. We searched international and scientific databases for relevant literature. Using a Mantel–Haenszel random-effects model, pooled odds ratios (OR) were calculated. Subgroup meta-analyses perfo...

BACKGROUND The goal of universal health coverage (UHC) requires inter alia that families who get needed health care do not suffer undue financial hardship as a result. This can be measured by the percentage of people in households whose out-of-pocket health expenditures are large relative to their income or consumption. We aimed to estimate the global incidence of catastrophic health spending, ...

BACKGROUND Excessive healthcare payments can impede access to health services and also disrupt the welfare of households with no financial protection. Health insurance is expected to offer financial protection against health shocks. Ghana began the implementation of its National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in 2004. The NHIS is aimed at removing the financial barrier to healthcare by limiting...

OBJECTIVE To analyze household health expenditures on children who are beneficiaries of the Medical Insurance for a New Generation (SMNG), program created in 2007 to cover healthcare costs of children without social security born after December 1st, 2006. MATERIALS AND METHODS Using the SMNG National Survey, out-the-pocket and catastrophic spending on child health were calculated using severa...

Background & objectives In India, health expenditure accounts for less than 5 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product and the level of out-of-pocket (OOP) spending is 69.5 per cent of total health expenditures. OOP expenditure exacerbates poverty and has a negative impact on equity and can increase the risk of vulnerable groups slipping into poverty. This study was conducted to estimate the OOP ...

Despite the increased coverage schemes of universal health insurance, unresolved challenges still remain in the current health care model. The expected epidemiological changes for chronic diseases in Latin American countries (LACs), will lead, in economic terms, to catastrophic expenditures for the health systems (more than 10% of the health budget) and for patients (more than 30% of the househ...