Financial protection analysis in eight countries in the WHO South-East Asia Region

OBJECTIVE: To document the financial protection status of eight countries of the South-East Asian region and to investigate the main components of out-of-pocket expenditure on health care. METHODS: We calculated two financial protection indicators using data from living standards surveys or household income and expenditure surveys in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste. First, we calculated the incidence of catastrophic health expenditure, defined as the proportion of the population spending more than 10% or 25% of their total household expenditure on health. Second, using World Bank poverty lines, we determined the impoverishing effect of health-care spending by households. We also conducted an analysis of the main components of out-of-pocket expenditure. RESULTS: Across countries in this study,…