Out-of-Pocket Healthcare Spending by the Poor and Chronically Ill in the Republic of Korea

• DOI: 10.2105/ajph.2005.080184
• Publication Date: 2007-03-30T01:21:41Z
• Authors: Jennifer Prah Ruger; Hak-Ju Kim
• Keywords: Adult; Male; Financing, Personal; Adolescent; Insurance Coverage; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Cost of Illness; Humans; Child; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Korea; 1. No poverty; Infant; Health Services; Middle Aged; 3. Good health; Child, Preschool; Health Care Surveys; Chronic Disease; Income; Female; Health Expenditures

We estimated out-of-pocket health care spending and burden ratio employing household equivalent income in the Republic of Korea. examined variations spending, income, identified factors associated with spending.We used 1998 Korean National Health Nutrition Survey, a nationally representative survey 39,060 individuals. Our analyses ratio, use by socioeconomic status, insurance type, facility chronic condition after we controlled for sociodemographic variables.The lowest quintile spent 12.5% their total on medical expenditures, which was 6 times that highest (2%). Among those 3 or more conditions, low-income Koreans had (20%), 5 among high-income (4%). In multivariate analyses, number use, type were spending.Out-of-pocket Korea is regressive, because lower-income groups pay disproportionately compared higher-income groups. Low-income individuals multiple conditions are particularly vulnerable.