Catastrophic Health Expenditure and Its Determinants Among Households With Breast Cancer Patients in China: A Multicentre, Cross-Sectional Survey

Frontiers in Public Health

Wen-qi Fu¹  Guo-xiang Liu¹  Xin Zhang¹  Cheng-yao Sun¹  Jie He²  Ju-fang Shi³  Wan-qing Chen³ 

[1] Department of Health Economics, College of Health Management of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China;National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China;Office of Cancer Screening, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China;

关键词: catastrophic health expenditures;    insurance;    breast cancer;    China;    economic burden;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpubh.2021.704700

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Background: Although numerous studies have examined catastrophic health expenditures (CHE) worldwide, most focus on the general population, not on specific vulnerable groups. We aimed to analyse the extent and the influencing factors of CHE in households with breast cancer patients in China, and explore the ability of different insurances to protect these households from CHE.Methods: A multicentre, cross-sectional interview surveys was conducted in households with breast cancer patients across seven provinces/municipalities in China. CHE were defined as out-of-pocket expenditures ≥ 40% of households' non-food expenditures. Chi-square tests and logistic regression analysis were performed to identify the determinants of CHE in household with breast cancer patients.Results: In the 639 participating households with breast cancer patients, the mean out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure accounted for ~55.20% of the mean households' non-food expenditures. The overall incidence of CHE was 87.95 and 66.28% before and after insurance compensation, respectively. The logistic regression model revealed that education, disease course, health insurance, treatment method, and income were significant predictors of CHE.Conclusions: The results indicated that medical insurance protects some households with breast cancer patients from the impact of CHE. However, their reimbursement rates were relatively low. Therefore, breast cancer still had a significant catastrophic effect on the economy of households. Policy efforts should focus on improving insurance compensation rates and relieving the economic burden of critical illnesses such as breast cancer.

【 授权许可】

Unknown