An analysis and financing of out of pocket health expenditure on elderly population a case study of Haryana

Abstract

The current study entitled An Analysis and Financing of out of Pocket Health Expenditure on Elderly Population: A Case Study of Haryana is done to obtain the Doctoral thesis. The current study is evidence based and uses primary data from the households with elderly (60+) in the state of Haryana. It is built on a multi-stage stratified systematic sampling design with a random start. The main objectives of the study are, to measure the OOP health expenditure on the elderly in the households and link them to their selected social, current economic and demographic background characteristics, to examine the prevailing patterns of OOP health expenditure on the elderly in the households in the context of their chronic and non-chronic diseases, injuries/accidents, and other health conditions, to study the composition of OOP health expenditure on elderly in terms of drugs, diagnostics, medical equipment and aids, ancillary services, doctor fee, health insurance premiums etc., and to examine the consequences of high OOP health expenditure along with their sources of financing. The multivariate techniques were used to examine the use pattern and impact of old age pension in Haryana. An assessment of the morbidity conditions among the elderly in selected households in the state of Haryana indicates that near about half of the elderly (51.0 percent) reported some form of sickness or disability during the year preceding the survey. When compared to the non-elderly, the elderly report 4.1 times higher morbidity reflecting the impact of old-age. newline