Abstract
Introduction: Gradual total health expenditure (THE) has become a major concern. It is not only the increased THE, but also its unequal growth in overall economy, found among the developing countries. If increased life expectancy is considered as a leverage for an individual’s investment in health services, it can be expected that as the life expectancy increases, tendency of health care investment will also experience a boost up. Objective: The aim of the present study was to explore and identify the association of healthcare expenditure with the life expectancy and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in developing countries, especially that of Bangladesh. Methodology: Data were retrospectively collected from “Health Bulletin 2011” and “Sample Vital Registration System 2010” of Bangladesh considering the fiscal year 1996 to fiscal year 2006. Using STATA, multivariable logistic regression was performed to find out the association of total health expenditure with GDP and life expectancy. Results: A direct relationship between GDP and total health expenditure was found through analysing the data. At the individual level, income had a direct influence on health spending. However, there was no significant relationship between total health expenditure with increased life expectancy. Conclusion: The present study did not find any association between life expectancy and total health expenditure. However, our analysis found out that total health expenditure is more sensitive to gross domestic product rather than life expectancy.
Highlights
Gradual total health expenditure (THE) has become a major concern
The present study did not find any association between life expectancy and total health expenditure
Our analysis found out that total health expenditure is more sensitive to gross domestic product rather than life expectancy
Summary
Gradual total health expenditure (THE) has become a major concern. It is the increased THE, and its unequal growth in overall economy, found among the developing countries. Out-of-pocket money spending in parallel with governing expenditures to buy the health services, have become a burning concern especially for the third world countries [2]. In such reality, total health expenditure is defined as the sum of both public and private health spending in consideration of the ratio of total population of the country [3]. Ministry of Finance of a country allocates the considerable portion of budget for health expenditure in a fiscal year This allocated budget has been reported in different studies as unequal for the developed and developing countries [3]. Other study showed that income has a direct influence on health spending for an individual and rich people are found to be more concerned about their
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