Source: Economic Research Forum
Author(s): Ahmed Rashad, Mesbah Sharaf
Original Link: http://erf.org.eg/publications/catastrophic-and-impoverishing-effects-of-out-of-pocket-health-expenditure-new-evidence-from-egypt/
Abstract:
Conventional poverty estimates do not take into account out-of-pocket (OOP) health payments. OOP health payments could cause financial catastrophe to households, which may push them into poverty. OOP payments are the principle means of financing healthcare in Egypt. This paper investigates the catastrophic and the impoverishing impact of OOP health payments in Egypt. A nationally representative sample of 10,550 households from the Eighth round of the Egyptian Family Observatory Survey is used. OOP payments for healthcare are considered catastrophic if exceeding 40% of the household’s capacity to pay. The impoverishing impact of OOP health payments is evaluated using poverty head counts and poverty gaps before and after the OOP payments. The determinants of catastrophic health expenditures are examined using a multivariate logistic regression. Results show that OOP health payments drive 6% of households to encounter financial catastrophe…
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