Additional payment despite free health care in Burkina Faso

Abstract

Free health care for children under five years of age in Burkina Faso was introduced in 2016 in order to remove the financial barrier to accessing care. Additional health expenses remain despite this free health care, which may compromise access to health services for the poorest patients. This partial medico-economic evaluation included a descriptive study of additional health expenses paid by parents. Payment receipts and parents’ declarations were consulted. The average monthly income of the parents was 73,026.79 FCFA ($132) with 5.08% of the parents having no income. The total direct cost was 6,043,785 FCFA ($10939). The total additional direct cost was 2,181,150 FCFA ($3,950) or 36.09% of the total direct cost. The average percentage of free care was 65.50%. 7.7% of parents were dissatisfied with the free schooling. 34.48% were unprepared for additional expenses, 43.97% of parents had difficulty paying the additional costs and of these 80% reported that they had exhausted their savings to meet the prescriptions. Additional health expenses remain high despite free care. This can compromise the care of the poorest patients. A reorganization of free health care is necessary.