한국의료패널 1차년도 자료를 이용한 과부담의료비 분석 = Analysis of Catastrophic Health Expenditures Using 1st Wave Korea Health Panel Data

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Health expenditures in Korea have been increasing due to increase in income and introduction of expensive health technologies. Despite the ongoing extension of benefit coverage in the National Health Insurance, Korean households still have to pay a high share of health expenses out-of-pocket, which leads many households to confront catastrophic health expenditure. The aim of this study is to estimate the incidence of catastrophic health expenditure(CHE) by socio-economic status and chronic disease of households using 1st wave Korea Health Panel, and to examine the factors that have influence on the incidence of CHE using multiple logistic regression. According to the findings, the percentage of households that spent more than 10% of household expenditure and income on health amounted to 19.7% and 15.7%, respectively, in 2008. The incidence of CHE was higher particularly among poor households and among households with chronic patients. For example, the incidence reached 58.3% among households with renal failure. The incidence of CHE was associated with householders`` age, type of health insurance, economic status, and the type and number of chronic diseases including hypertension, cerebral disease, renal failure, and neoplasm. This study has policy implications that it is necessary to extend insurance coverage to vulnerable groups in our society.