background: informal payments in the health sector of many developing countries are considered as a major impediment to health care reforms. informal payments are a form of systemic fraud and have adverse effects on the performance of the health system. in this study, the frequency and extent of informal payments as well as the determinants of these payments were investigated in general hospita...

Despite the implementation of the first phase of fuel subsidy targeting in December 2010, there are still debates over the economic impact of this project in Iran. A CGE model is used to analyze the impact of fuel subsidy targeting in Iran in four different scenarios. The data are used in the framework of SAM for the year 2001. In all scenarios, indirect subsidies are removed completely and rep...

Background There is high reliance on out-of-pocket (OOP) health payments as a means of financing health system in Nigeria. OOP health payments can make households face catastrophe and become impoverished. The study aims to examine the financial burden of OOP health payments among households in Nigeria.   Methods Secondary data from the Harmonized Nigeria Living Standard Survey (HNLSS) of 2009/2...

Background Informal payments for health care, which are common in many countries, can have negative effects on health care access, equity and health status as they lead people to forgo or delay seeking care, or to sell assets to pay for care. Many countries are putting reforms in place with the aim of reducing informal payments. In order to be successful, such policies should be informed by the...