Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37024883›Full record

ArticleInternational journal for equity in health2023

To what extent has the Iranian Health Transformation Plan addressed inequality in healthcare financing in Iran?

Maryam Moeeni, Shirin Nosratnejad, Manizhe Rostampour, Koen Ponnet

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Article in International journal for equity in health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

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5 · Who and what money

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4 authors.

Maryam MoeeniSocial Determinants of Health Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Shirin NosratnejadIranian Center of Excellence in Health Services Management, School of Management and Medical Informatics, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. nosratnejadsh@tbzmed.ac.ir.
Manizhe RostampourIranian Center of Excellence in Health Services Management, School of Management and Medical Informatics, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. Rostampourm1372@gmail.com.
Koen PonnetFaculty of Social Sciences, Imec-Mict-Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOne of the major goals of health systems is providing a financing strategy without inequality; this has a significant impact on people's access to healthcare. The present study aimed to investigate the inequality in households' financial contribution (HFC) to health expenditure both before and after the implementation of the Iranian Health Transformation Plan (HTP) in 2014.

methodsThis study is a secondary analysis of two waves of a national survey conducted in Iran. The data were collected from the Households Income and Expenditure Survey in 2013 and 2015. The research sample included 76,195 Iranian households. The inequality in households' financial contributions to the health system was assessed using the Gini coefficient, and the concentration index (CI). In addition, by using econometric modeling, the relationship between the implementation of the HTP and inequality in HFC was studied. The households' financial contribution included healthcare and health insurance prepayments.

resultsThe Gini coefficient values were 0.67 and 0.65 in 2013 and 2015, respectively, indicating a medium degree of inequality in HFC in both years. The CI values were 0.54 and 0.56 in 2013 and 2015, respectively, suggesting that inequalities in HFC were in favor of higher income quintiles in the years before and after the implementation of the HTP. Regression analysis showed that households with a female head, with an unemployed head, or with a head having income without a job were contributing more to financing health expenditure. The presence of a household member over the age of 65 was associated with a higher level of HFC. The implementation of the HTP had a negative relationship with the HFC.

conclusionThe HTP, aiming to address inequality in the financing system, did not achieve the intended goal as expected. The implementation of the HTP neglected certain factors at the household level, such as the presence of family members older than the age of 65, a female household head, and unemployment. This resulted in a failure to reduce the inequality of the HFC. We suggest that, in the future, policymakers take into account factors at the household level to reduce inequality in the HFC.

Indexed as

Healthcare FinancingIncomeDelivery of Health CareFamily CharacteristicsFemaleHealth ExpendituresHumansIranEquity in healthcare financingFinancing systemHealth financing systemIran

Identifiers

PMID37024883
PMCPMC10080967

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