BACKGROUND The goal of the New Rural Cooperative Medical System (NCMS) is to decrease the financial burden and improve the health of rural areas. The purpose of the present study is to determine how government subsidies vary between poorer and wealthier groups, especially in low-income regions in rural China. METHODS The distribution, amount, and equity of government subsidies delivered via N...

BACKGROUND This study aims to rank policy concerns and policy-related research issues in order to identify policy and research gaps on access to medicines (ATM) in low- and middle-income countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), as perceived by policy makers, researchers, NGO and international organization representatives, as part of a global prioritization exercise. METHODS Data co...

BACKGROUND Direct out-of-pocket payments for health care are recognised as limiting access to health care services and also endangering the welfare of households. In Uganda, such payments comprise a large portion of total health financing. This study assesses the catastrophic and impoverishing impact of paying for health care out-of-pocket in Uganda. METHODS Using data from the Uganda Nationa...

BACKGROUND Health spending by the Chinese government has declined and traditional social health insurance collapsed after economic reforms in the early 1980s; accordingly, the low-income population is exposed to potentially significant healthcare costs. Financing an equitable healthcare system represents a major policy objective in China's current healthcare reform efforts. The current research...

BACKGROUND Universal health coverage is high on national health agendas of many countries at the moment. Absence of financial hardship is a key component of universal health coverage and should be monitored regularly. However, relevant household survey data, which is traditionally needed for this analysis is not frequently collected in most countries and in some countries, has not been collecte...

SUMMARY BACKGROUND The Government of Ghana's fee exemption policy for delivery care introduced in September 2003, aimed at reducing financial barriers to using maternal services. This policy also aimed to increase the rate of skilled attendance at delivery, reduce maternal and perinatal mortality rates and contribute to reducing poverty. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the economic outcomes of the poli...

conclusions considering iran’s economic condition during the last five years, the catastrophic health expenditure headcount ratio was more than 2% in iran. materials and methods this descriptive study on iranian rural and urban households was conducted from april to june 2015. the sample sizes were 19437 rural and 18888 urban households that iranian statistical centre (isc) selected them throug...

BACKGROUND Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are becoming a major source of the national disease burden in Myanmar with potentially serious economic implications. METHODS Using data on 5484 households from the World Health Survey (WHS), this study assessed the household-level economic burden of two chronic conditions, angina and asthma, in Myanmar. Propensity score matching (PSM) and coarsened...

OBJECTIVES As in many low-income and middle-income countries, out-of-pocket (OOP) payments by patients or their families are a key healthcare financing mechanism in Bangladesh that leads to economic burdens for households. The objective of this study was to identify whether and to what extent socioeconomic, demographic, and behavioral factors of the population had an impact on OOP expenditures ...

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...