Data on Healthcare Economics Published by Researchers at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (A paradoxical situation in regressivity or progressivity of out of pocket payment for health care: which one is a matter of the health policy …)

2019 DEC 26 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Research findings on healthcare economics are discussed in a new report. According to news originating from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Equity in health financing as one main aspect of health equity plays an essential role on the path toward universal health coverage.”

Our news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences: “Out of pocket payment (OOP), a source with high share to total health expenditure, is an inequitable mechanism for health financing. Main body The OOP has been considered regressive (Kakwani index with a negative value) in nature. However, in some studies especially in developing countries, it is reported to be progressive (Kakwani index with a positive value). The main questions are: Is the progressive OOP equitable? What causes this contradiction? What can we do for the proper interpretation? And what are policy implications of this issue? In this commentary we briefly elaborate on these issues. We present several reasons for progressivity of OOP, and several methodological and policy issues for addressing it.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Even if the OOP is progressive and the share of poor people is low, this may financially limit their access to health services, increase their risk of incurring catastrophic health expenditure (CHE), and even pushing them more into poverty. In order to provide a comprehensive picture of equity in health financing, other financial protection indicators such as the redistributive effect, re-rating, exposure to CHE, and impoverishment due to health expenditure should also be estimated and reviewed.”

For more information on this research see: A paradoxical situation in regressivity or progressivity of out of pocket payment for health care: which one is a matter of the health policy maker’s decision to intervention?. Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation, 2019,17(1):1-4. (Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation - http://www.resource-allocation.com/). The publisher for Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation is BMC.

A free version of this journal article is available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12962-019-0197-0.

Our news editors report that more information may be obtained by contacting Mohsen Bayati, Health Human Resources Research Center, School of Management & Information Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Additional authors for this research include Mohammad Hossein Mehrolhassani, Vahid Yazdi-Feyzabadi.

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