Background One of the objectives of the health transformation plan (HTP) in Iran is to reduce out-of-pocket (OOP) payments for inpatient services and eradicate informal payments. The HTP has three phases: the first phase (launched in May 5, 2014) is focused on reducing OOP payments for inpatient services; the second phase (launched in May 22, 2014) is focused on primary healthcare (PHC) and the...

Purpose The number of novel oral anticancer agents is increasing, but financial barriers may limit access. We examined associations between out-of-pocket (OOP) costs and reduced and/or delayed treatment initiation. Methods This retrospective claims-based study used 2014 to 2015 data from a large, proprietary, integrated database and included Medicare and commercial insurance enrollees with a ne...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Income inequality is associated with poor health. Inequities exist in service utilization and financing for health care. Health care costs push high number of households into poverty in India. We undertook this study to ascertain inequities in health status, service utilization and out-of-pocket (OOP) health expenditures in two States in north India namely, Haryana and P...

BACKGROUND Insufficient social security combined with family structure changes has resulted in a poverty of the elderly. The objective of this study was to examine an association of living arrangements of the elderly with chronic disease prevalence and prescription drug use. METHODS 2008 Korea Health Panel Survey (KHPS) data were used in this study. Information on living arrangements, socio-d...

Several publicly financed health insurance schemes have been launched in India with the aim of providing universalizing health coverage (UHC). In this paper, we report the impact of publicly financed health insurance schemes on health service utilization, out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure, financial risk protection and health status. Empirical research studies focussing on the impact or evaluatio...

OBJECTIVE This article measures the probability that out-of-pocket expenses in the United States exceed a threshold share of income. It calculates this probability separately by individuals' health condition, income, and elderly status and estimates changes occurring in these probabilities between 2010 and 2013. DATA AND METHOD This article uses nationally representative household survey data...

BACKGROUND This study investigates the effects of a new medical insurance payment system for hospice patients in palliative care programs and analyzes length of survival (LoS) determinants. METHOD At the Pusan National University Hospital hospice center, between January 2015 and April 2016, 276 patients were hospitalized with several diagnosed types of terminal stage cancer. This study separa...