Volume 2, Issue 4 (12-2019)                   Iran J Health Insur 2019, 2(4): 216-227 | Back to browse issues page

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Na'emani F, Yahyavi Dizaj J. The Relationship Between Health Insurance Coverage and Catastrophic Health Expenditure Among Iranian Households. Iran J Health Insur 2019; 2 (4) :216-227
URL: http://journal.ihio.gov.ir/article-1-115-en.html
1- Department of Health Management and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2- Department of Health Management and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , jafar.economic@yahoo.com
Abstract:   (7176 Views)

Introduction: Financial and economic constraints are among the most important barriers to accessing health care services. Therefore, protecting the recipients of health services against the cost of health by using the insurance mechanism is one of the main strategies for achieving universal health coverage in societies; accordingly, the present study was designed and implemented to explain the status of health insurance coverage and its effect on catastrophic health expenditure among Iranian households.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015-2018 using the Household Expenditure Survey data by Statistics Center of Iran. After data extraction and data cleaning, data on 37962 households were included in the study. Catastrophic health expenditure index was calculated based on WHO definition. Data were extracted by MSAccess2013 and MSExcel2013 and analyzed using Logit regression technique
with STATA v.14.1.

Result: The results of this study showed that insurance coverage in rural areas (77.66%) was more than urban areas (71%). In rural areas, urban and countrywide, respectively, health insurance, social security and health insurance covered the most of the population. There was no positive effect of insurance coverage on probability of households facing catastrophic health expenditures. Factors such as increasing number
of elderly in households, being rented, being rural, income, unemployed were identified as contributing factors to the increased probability of facing catastrophic health expenditures.

Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, it seems that health insurance has not been able to prevent Iranian households with catastrophic health expenditures. While other socioeconomic factors may also be contributing to catastrophic health expenditures, what seems to be clear is that Iranian households with health insurance have not been exposed to the risk of being exposed to catastrophic health expenditures. Therefore, along with insurance policy reforms, other socioeconomic factors affecting the health of the household should also be considered.

Full-Text [PDF 349 kb]   (1985 Downloads)    
Type of Study: Research | Subject: General
Received: 2019/12/13 | Revised: 2020/03/17 | Accepted: 2020/02/22 | ePublished: 2020/03/14

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