BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are medical conditions that are associated with long durations, slow progress, and lifetime medications. This study aimed to assess the household out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures on NCDs in a 4th class municipality.

This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the characteristics of the households and household heads, healthcare needs, expenditures on medicines, health, and household, and alternative coping strategies to avail healthcare needs.

This study surveyed 200 households from all ten barangays of Ternate, Cavite. Top NCDs recorded include hypertension, diabetes, heart diseases, and asthma, while top NCDs medicines recorded were Losartan, Amlodipine, Metformin, and Glimepiride. Blood tests were the most needed medical laboratory service, while X-ray was the most needed diagnostic imaging service. Although more than half of the households have a member with only one NCD— the most prevalent being hypertensive disease, diabetes mellitus and other metabolic diseases—it is also common to have household members taking medicines for two to three NCDs.

This study highlights the need to address issues with lack of access and availability of essential medicines for NCDs especially in the primary health care setting. This study provides evidence on the minimal financial risk protection provided for medicines with data suggesting that it is the primary cause of CHEs for NCDs. Households covered by the Primary Care Benefit Packages were excluded from the study, thus, the estimates derived from the sample may be an overestimate of the true prevalence of CHE in the municipality. Therefore, there is a need to have mechanisms in place to expand insurance coverage and increase government programs catering to certain population groups to reduce the financial burden of medicines for NCDs.

OBJECTIVES

This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social service accessibility for persons with disabilities in the Philippines, with a focus on disability related opportunity costs and out-of-pocket expenses.

A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining both qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques. Focus group discussions (FGDs) and interviews were conducted to gather qualitative insights, while quantitative analysis, utilizing one-sample t-tests, was used to assess the impact of the pandemic on key areas such as income, access to essential goods, employment, healthcare, mental health, and social support.

Using a mixed-methods approach, data were collected from 141 participants. Qualitative insights highlighted that 89% of participants reported negative effects on daily living conditions due to rising costs and limited access to necessities. Parents of children with disabilities indicated that early childhood care and development services were adversely affected by school closures, and transitioning to online learning posed significant barriers, with 62% lacking access to training and resources. While many participants had access to healthcare, lockdowns exacerbated disability-related opportunity costs, complicating access to routine care. Quantitative data findings were analyzed through one-sample t-tests to assess the impact of COVID-19 on various aspects of daily life, including income, access to essential goods, employment status, healthcare access, mental health, and social support. Findings revealed significant challenges, with an average income decrease rating of 7.39, reflecting substantial financial loss. Ratings for access to essential goods and healthcare services also averaged 7.39, while employment status was rated at 7.82, indicating instability. Mental health impacts averaged 7.13, and social support was rated at 7.42, underscoring inadequacies during this crisis.

Overall, the study emphasizes the urgent need for targeted interventions and inclusive responses in emergency planning to mitigate the pandemic's disproportionate impact on this marginalized group in the Philippines.

No abstract available.
Health Expenditures*

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) case rate system in reducing out-of-pocket expenses among non-no balance billing (NBB) patients undergoing thyroidectomy under the Department of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery of the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center from February to September 2018. Methods: Design: Prospective Cross- Sectional. Setting: Tertiary Government Hospital. Participants: Sixty-four (64) randomly selected patients with PhilHealth who underwent thyroidectomy who agreed to participate and reveal their statements of accounts. Results: Among the study population, 20% belonged to the no balance billing (NBB) category, with zero out-of-pocket expenses during their confinement. Eighty percent (80%) belonged to the non-NBB category and also incurred zero hospital charges. In addition, there was no significant difference in the individual categories of the hospital expenses between the two groups except for the surgical procedures (p= .018, 95% CI). The accumulated total expenses also did not significantly differ between the two groups (p= .063, 95% CI). The minimum amount billed was PhP 1,984.95, while the maximum amount charged was PhP 38,898.65, with a median of PhP 18,703.28 and interquartile range of PhP 4,251.78 (XU: PhP 20,848.74, XL : PhP 16,596.96). There were no reported out-of-pocket expenses from non-NBB patients. The actual cost of thyroidectomy did not differ significantly from the case rate provided by PhilHealth among all the RVS categories. Conclusion The PhilHealth case rate system is effective in reducing out-of-pocket expenses among non-NBB patients who underwent thyroidectomy in our institution during the study period.
Health Expenditures ; Thyroidectomy ; Health Expenditures

Results from some studies in rural area of Vietnam have shown that poor people are likely tend to sell assets while non poor people are able to pay for health care services. This makes poor people fall into poverty trap. Objectives: To identify the average household health expenditure during a year and sources of borrowing money and average amount of borrowing as well for health care services. Methods: 621 households were selected randomly from the Filabavi, Bavi District, Ha Tay Province. A longitudinal descriptive study was conducted for one year from July 2001 to June 2002. All selected households were interviewed one time per month. Results and conslusion: average payment household for health care services for one year was VND 519.000 (6.4% of total annual household income). Annual household income of poor group was VND 6,576,000, among this 8.4% was paid for health care services. There was 16.9% household had to borrow money for health care services average1y, while 23.1% of poor household had to borrow money for health care services. Borrowing sources included relatives (85%), neighbours (50%), Bank (26%), friends (15%), community organizations (9%) and private organizations with some interest (18%).
Health Expenditures, Rural Health

The expenditure structure and the sharing of the cost from in patients and out patient betweem subject with and without insurance subscriptive subject at commune and district level were analysed. Health Insurance service had supported importantly the subject at basic level especially the poors and the pensioneers who received 100% of allowance to access to the health care. Other expenditures, included also the gifts, from the insurance subscribers were higher consisderably than the subjects without insurance. For old person and pensioneers who hospitalized, these other expenditures account for high rate (60,91% at commune level and 60,32% at district level)
Health Expenditures ; Insurance

A multiple regression analysis using ordinary least square (OLS) is frequently used for the projection of healt expenditure as well as for the identification of factors affecting health care costs. Data for the analysis often have mixed characteristics of time series and cross section. Parameters as a result of OLS estimation, in this case, are no longer the best linear unbiased estimators (BLUE) because the data do not satisfy basic assumptions of regression analysis. The study theoretically examined statistical problems induced when OLS estimation was applied with the time series cross section data. Then both the OLS regression and time series cross section regression (TSCS regression) were applied to the same empirical data. Finally, the difference in parameters between the two estimations were explained through residual analysis.
Health Care Costs ; Health Expenditures*

BACKGROUND: It is expected that the demand for the information about the primary medical service in the forthcoming supersede age of communication will be on the increase. For that reason, family doctors who are in charge of the primary medical service have to play an important part in constructing a data-base for furnishing the medical information. This article presents a model which includes the roles of family doctors, constructing medical-related information site of family medicine in the communications net with PC to gat,her fundamental data in operating the system of medical information and elucidating the formation of medical-related information site and the effect of operating that system. METHODS: Since Aug. 20 in 1996, the site of family medicine, the program of medical information, has been set up in Unitel. The medical information of the site of family medicine is to be classified into two parts : for doctors and for the public. The former is composed of medicine documents, several kinds of medical data, a linkage with medicine site in Internet, movements of an academic society and information exchanges for friendship. The latter is mainly made up of some practical medical sense and medical counsel. RESULTS: From the opening the medical information site to Jul. 30 in 1997, 250 persons a day have connected with medical information site and this fact implied 15 hours connection a day in terms of the daily mean. The cases of health counsel averaged 6 cases connection a day and the annual statistics of those cases were about, 1980 cases. The major content of health counsel was related to common symptoms that could be settled in primary medical problem. According to the survey for connectors, most of connectors answered that the medical information through communications net was much more effective t.han that from other media in the educational aspects and very helpful in the prevention of diseases and in the medical expenditure. Above all, the medical information through communications net was very effective in correcting the mistaken practical medical sense. CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary for family doctors to give thought to the connection of both information communication and medicine and to have correct understanding of medical domain in the cyberspace. On the foundation of these necessities, all the family doctors have to make the best of their way to construct a database with rnedical data and to transfer these data into the computer sites.
Friends ; Health Expenditures ; Humans ; Internet

Health ; Papua New Guinea ; Expenditures

No abstract available.
Cervix Uteri* ; Female ; Health Expenditures*