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Payments for health care and its effect on catastrophe and impoverishment: Experience from the transition to Universal Coverage in Thailand

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  • Somkotra, Tewarit
  • Lagrada, Leizel P.

Abstract

Equitable health financing was embodied in the reform strategies of Thailand's health care system when the country moved towards implementing the Universal Coverage (UC) policy in 2001. This study aimed to measure the pattern of household out-of-pocket payments for health care and to examine the financial catastrophe and impoverishment due to such payments during the transitional period (pre- and post-Universal Coverage policy implementation) in Thailand. This study used the nationally representative Socioeconomic Surveys in 2000 (pre-UC), 2002, and 2004 (post-UC), which contained data from 24747, 34758 and 34843 individual households, respectively. The proportion of out-of-pocket payments for health care as a share of household living standards among Thai households shows a decreasing pattern during the observed period. Moreover, the incidence and intensity of catastrophic payments for health care decline from the pre-UC to post-UC period. The distribution of incidence and the intensity of catastrophic payments for health care across quintiles also indicate that the lower quintile group (1st and 2nd quintiles) incurs lower catastrophic health care payments compared to the higher quintile group. The UC policy is also effective in preventing impoverishment due to out-of-pocket payments for health care since both the poverty headcount and poverty gap decline from the pre-UC to post-UC period. This study provides important evidence that the UC policy implementation is a valuable social protection and safety net strategy that contributes to the prevention of financial catastrophe and impoverishment due to out-of-pocket payments for health care. In conclusion, the UC policy in Thailand achieves one of the goals of improving the health system through equitable health care financing by reducing financial catastrophe and impoverishment due to out-of-pocket payments for health care.

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  • Somkotra, Tewarit & Lagrada, Leizel P., 2008. "Payments for health care and its effect on catastrophe and impoverishment: Experience from the transition to Universal Coverage in Thailand," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(12), pages 2027-2035, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:67:y:2008:i:12:p:2027-2035
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    3. Cherri Zhang & Md Shafiur Rahman & Md Mizanur Rahman & Alfred E Yawson & Kenji Shibuya, 2019. "Trends and projections of universal health coverage indicators in Ghana, 1995-2030: A national and subnational study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(5), pages 1-19, May.
    4. Kim, Chang-O & Joung, Won Oh, 2014. "Effect of the Crisis Assistance Program on poverty transition for seriously ill people in South Korea: A quasi-experimental study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 28-35.
    5. Mohammad Hajizadeh & Hong Nghiem, 2011. "Out-of-pocket expenditures for hospital care in Iran: who is at risk of incurring catastrophic payments?," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 267-285, December.
    6. Elham Ahmadnezhad & Adrianna Murphy & Rezvaneh Alvandi & Zhaleh Abdi, 2019. "The impact of health reform in Iran on catastrophic health expenditures: Equity and policy implications," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(4), pages 1833-1845, October.
    7. Li, Cheng & Yu, Xuan & Butler, James R.G. & Yiengprugsawan, Vasoontara & Yu, Min, 2011. "Moving towards universal health insurance in China: Performance, issues and lessons from Thailand," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(3), pages 359-366, August.
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    9. HyunWoo Jung & Kwang-Soo Lee, 2022. "What Policy Approaches Were Effective in Reducing Catastrophic Health Expenditure? A Systematic Review of Studies from Multiple Countries," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 525-541, July.
    10. Chen, Mingsheng & Xu, Lizheng & Si, Lei & Wang, Zhonghua & Jan, Stephen, 2023. "Examining the level and distribution of catastrophic health expenditure from 2013 to 2018: A province-level study in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    11. Kyriopoulos, Ilias & Nikoloski, Zlatko & Mossialos, Elias, 2021. "Financial protection in health among the middle-aged and elderly: Evidence from the Greek economic recession," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(9), pages 1256-1266.
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    13. Susan W. Parker & Joseph Saenz & Rebeca Wong, 2018. "Health Insurance and the Aging: Evidence From the Seguro Popular Program in Mexico," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(1), pages 361-386, February.
    14. Syed M. Ahsan & Syed Abdul Hamid & Shubhasish Barua, 2012. "Utilisation of Formal Health Care and Out-of-Pocket Payments in Rural Bangladesh," Working Papers 13, Institute of Microfinance (InM).
    15. Thoresen, Stian H. & Fielding, Angela, 2011. "Universal health care in Thailand: Concerns among the health care workforce," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 17-22, January.
    16. Supon Limwattananon & Sven Neelsen & Owen O'Donnell & Phusit Prakongsai & Viroj Tangcharoensathien & Eddy van Doorslaer & Vuthiphan Vongmongkol, 2013. "Universal Coverage on a Budget: Impacts on Health Care Utilization and Out-Of-Pocket Expenditures in Thailand," CESifo Working Paper Series 4262, CESifo.
    17. Asankha Pallegedara, 2018. "Impacts of chronic non-communicable diseases on households’ out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures in Sri Lanka," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 301-319, September.
    18. Amir Fazaeli & Mohmmad Hadian & Aziz Rezapour & Ali Fazaeli, 2016. "Assessing the Distribution of Household Financial Contribution to Health System: A Case Study of Iran," Global Journal of Health Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 8(10), pages 233-233, October.
    19. Syed Hamid & Syed Ahsan & Afroza Begum, 2014. "Disease-Specific Impoverishment Impact of Out-of-Pocket Payments for Health Care: Evidence from Rural Bangladesh," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 421-433, August.
    20. Abdur Razzaque Sarker & Marufa Sultana & Khorshed Alam & Nausad Ali & Nurnabi Sheikh & Raisul Akram & Alec Morton, 2021. "Households' out‐of‐pocket expenditure for healthcare in Bangladesh: A health financing incidence analysis," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(6), pages 2106-2117, November.
    21. Xiaocang Xu & Haoran Yang, 2022. "Elderly chronic diseases and catastrophic health expenditure: an important cause of Borderline Poor Families’ return to poverty in rural China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-10, December.
    22. Niëns, L.M. & Brouwer, W.B.F., 2013. "Measuring the affordability of medicines: Importance and challenges," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(1), pages 45-52.
    23. Limwattananon, Supon & Neelsen, Sven & O'Donnell, Owen & Prakongsai, Phusit & Tangcharoensathien, Viroj & van Doorslaer, Eddy & Vongmongkol, Vuthiphan, 2015. "Universal coverage with supply-side reform: The impact on medical expenditure risk and utilization in Thailand," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 79-94.

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