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Examining the density in out-of-pocket spending share in the estimation of catastrophic health expenditures

Author

Listed:
  • Abdulrahman Jbaily

    (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)

  • Annie Haakenstad

    (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)

  • Mizan Kiros

    (Ethiopian Health Insurance Agency)

  • Carlos Riumallo-Herl

    (Erasmus University)

  • Stéphane Verguet

    (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)

Abstract

Universal health coverage (UHC) aims to provide access to health services for all without financial hardship. Moving toward UHC while ensuring financial risk protection (FRP) from out-of-pocket (OOP) health expenditures is a critical objective of the Sustainable Development Goal for Health. In tracking country progress toward UHC, analysts and policymakers usually report on two summary indicators of lack of FRP: the prevalence of catastrophic health expenditures (CHE) and the prevalence of impoverishing health expenditures. In this paper, we build on the CHE indicator: we examine the distribution (density) of health OOP budget share as a way to capture both the magnitude and dispersion in the ratio of households’ OOP health expenditures relative to consumption or income at the population level. We illustrate our approach with country-specific examples using data from the World Health Organization’s World Health Surveys.

Suggested Citation

  • Abdulrahman Jbaily & Annie Haakenstad & Mizan Kiros & Carlos Riumallo-Herl & Stéphane Verguet, 2022. "Examining the density in out-of-pocket spending share in the estimation of catastrophic health expenditures," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 23(5), pages 903-912, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eujhec:v:23:y:2022:i:5:d:10.1007_s10198-021-01316-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s10198-021-01316-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Owen O'Donnell & Eddy van Doorslaer & Adam Wagstaff & Magnus Lindelow, 2008. "Analyzing Health Equity Using Household Survey Data : A Guide to Techniques and Their Implementation," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6896.
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Financial risk protection; Out-of-pocket health expenditures; Catastrophic health expenditures; Universal health coverage; Equity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • I13 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Insurance, Public and Private
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty

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