Health expenditure in households with disabled people

Abstract

The major goal of a household is to maximise the satisfaction of the needs of its members through the consumption of appropriate goods and services. One of the main needs, especially in households with people with disabilities, is health protection, which entails comparatively large financial outlays. The aim of this study is to recognise regularities in health expenditure of households with disabled people, to assess the significance of health expenditure in the structure of these households' expenditure, and to attempt to identify the determinants of health expenditure. The study is based on data obtained from two editions of Statistics Poland's household budget survey, performed in 2009 and in 2019. The study presents an analysis of the diversification of the level and structure of the health-related expenditure of households in Poland. The power-exponential model was used to identify the determinants of these expenses. The analysis shows that households with disabled people have a lower disposable income and, at the same time, incur higher health expenses. Health-related expenditure in households with disabled people is mainly determined by: age, level of income, the fact whether a household member/members is/are a person/s with a, significant degree of disability, and source of income.