OBJECTIVES To determine changes in out-of-pocket expenditure on prescription medicines for Australian patients, and how patient expenditure compares with other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. METHODS We examined out-of-pocket expenditure on prescription medicines by patients in Australia between 1970 and 2007, and between Australia and 15 other OECD co...

Introduction All nations are striving for development. Economic development is one of the main parts of development process, but not all of it. Populations health is one of the main factors of economic development, and child’s mortality is one of the main factors of population health status. The aim of this study is investigating the role of socioeconomic disparties in under 5 mortality in East...

BACKGROUND Predictors of high out-of-pocket household healthcare expenditure are essential for creating effective health system finance policy. In Bangladesh, 63.3% of health expenditure is out-of-pocket and born by households. It is imperative to know what determines household health expenditure. This study aims to investigate the predicting factors of high out-of-pocket household healthcare e...

BACKGROUND Generation of resources for providing health care services is an important issue in developing countries. User charges in the form of Surgical Package Program (SPP) were introduced in all district hospitals of Haryana to address this problem. We evaluate the effect of this SPP program on surgical care utilization and out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures. METHODS Data on 25437 surgeries...

BACKGROUND One of the key functions of health insurance is to provide financial protection against high costs of health care, yet evidence of such protection from developing countries has been inconsistent. The current study uses the case of Ghana to contribute to the evidence pool about insurance's financial protection effects. It evaluates the impact of the country's National Health Insurance...

Aim/purpose – The aim of this study was to estimate the effect health insurance on Out-of-Pocket (OOP) care expenditure in Kenya. It is informed by persistence challenges access and utilization quality affordable services. Previously, researchers have estimated effects different forms fi- nancing its demand shown that affordability not only enhances use services but also cushions people against...

BACKGROUND Many health systems in Africa are funded primarily through out-of-pocket payments. Out-of-pocket payments prevent people from seeking care, can result to catastrophic health spending and lead to impoverishment. This paper estimates the burden of out-of-pocket payments in Kenya; the incidence and intensity of catastrophic health care expenditure and the effect of health spending on na...