The impact of health reform in Iran on catastrophic health expenditures: Equity and policy implications.

Abstract

In 2014, the Islamic Republic of Iran launched the Health Transformation Plan (HTP), with the goal of achieving universal health coverage (UHC) through improved financial protection and access to high-quality health services among Iranian households. We aimed to investigate the impact of the HTP on the level and pattern of out-of-pocket (OOP) payments for health care. Using data from two rounds (2013 and 2016) of the Iranian Statistics Centre's Household Expenditure and Income Survey (HEIS), collected before and after implementation of the HTP, we estimate changes in the level and drivers of OOP payments, and the prevalence, intensity, and distribution of catastrophic health expenditures (CHEs) among Iranian households. Our results indicate that per capita OOP payments on health remained stable during the observed period, with the largest proportion of OOP payments spent on medicines. Using thresholds of 10% and 25% of total consumption, there was a slight increase in the prevalence of CHE. The prevalence of CHE increased from 3.76% to 3.82% at threshold of 25% of total consumption. Using 40% capacity to pay threshold, prevalence diminished modestly from 2.5% to 2.37% and the intensity decreased from 13.16% to 12.32%. At all thresholds, CHE were more concentrated among wealthier households. These results suggest that while financial protection of the poor in Iran has improved due to the HTP, more work is needed to achieve UHC in Iran. For the next phase of health reforms, more emphasis should be placed on shifting away from OOP co-payments for health financing to progressive prepayment mechanisms to facilitate better sharing of financial risks across population groups.