Solidarity-based Financing of Health Care Access for the Poor Patients at the University Hospital Point G, Bamako, Mali

Abstract

Introduction: Almost half of the world's populations do not have access to basic health care. This exclusion mainly affects people living in rural areas, who are nevertheless the most susceptible to diseases. The Medical Assistance Plan allows a marked improvement in access to healthcare by poor patients. It eliminates out of pocket healthcare cost, which normally prevents most of them from accessing health care. Materials and methods: This study was aimed to investigate the accessibility to healthcare for poor patients at the University Hospital Point G. We conducted a 12-month descriptive cross-sectional study from March 2018 to April 2019. Data entry and analysis were performed using SPSS version 21.0. Results: Our study participants we interviewed were aged 30-44 years old in 30.7%, female in 60.7%, and housewives in 46.7%. Our interviewees consulted for consulted for chronic diseases in 79.3%, had no monthly income in 78.7% and obtained the healthcare benefits at no cost to them in 60.7%. The prescriptions costed between 5,000 and 15,000 FCFA in 51.1%, 20252 FCFA on average with a standard deviation of 1340 FCFA. In sum, 59 out of our 150 patients who were eligible for free healthcare had to pay for a contribution either a subsidized cost in 84.7% or a partial purchase in in 15.3%. Conclusion: The main barriers to healthcare were the chronicity of their diseases and the expensiveness of the healthcare due the level of poverty in the country.
 Keywords: Solidarity financing, Access to healthcare, poor, CHU Point G / Mali