Assessing out of pocket costs and the incidence of catastrophic expenditures among chronic disease households in Kenya
Date
2018
Authors
Ngolo, Julian
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Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Strathmore University
Abstract
Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is among the global goals pursued by the Kenyan government. Currently, the country faces the burden of communicable diseases, chronic diseases and non-communicable diseases. To develop policies that ensure access to needed healthcare services and financial protection for all, examining out of pocket costs and the incidence of catastrophic health expenditures among households with chronic disease in Kenya is an important research and policy question. Descriptive analysis was done on secondary data from Kenya Household Expenditure and Utilization Survey (KHHEUS), 2013 consisting of 33,675 households. Out of these households, 8284 households reported having at least one member with a chronic disease. Catastrophic health expenditures was examined by obtaining the proportion of households that incurred out of pocket expenditures that exceeded 40% of a households’ non-food expenditure. The incidence of catastrophic health expenditures among chronic disease households was 8.1% and this increased to 13.5% when transport costs were considered. In addition, payments for outpatient services was the greatest driver of total out of pocket costs among chronic disease households and payment for drugs took the largest share of these costs. Variations in out of pocket costs incurred were noted with the richest quintiles and urban households incurring highest direct healthcare costs while the poorest quintiles and rural households incurred highest costs on transport. These results are important in policy making and designing health financing schemes
Description
Keywords
Universal health coverage, Communicable diseases, Healthcare services, Chronic diseases