A Comparison of Factors Influencing Household Catastrophic Health Expenditure between Provinces and Rural Areas: Based on the Income Level

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify the scale of catastrophic health expenditure by urban and rural areas, and to compare and identify factors that may affect them. In this study, the 14th (2019) Korea Welfare Panel data, provided by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, was used. The dependent variable was occurrence of catastrophic health expenditure, divided into 10, 20, 30, and 40% threshold levels. The independent variables were divided into household head's characteristics and household characteristics. Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the factors affecting the occurrence of catastrophic health expenditure at each threshold level. The characteristics of household heads and the characteristics of households were of urban and rural households were different. At all threshold levels, there were more rural households with catastrophic health expenditure than urban. Compared to urban households, there was a higher probability of catastrophic health expenditure in rural households and had a significant effect at the 40% threshold level. Factors influencing the occurrence of catastrophic health expenditure were different in urban and rural areas, especially at the 40% threshold level. In order to prevent the occurrence of catastrophic health expenditure, discussions on the definition settings and policy preparation are needed.