Comparing cost-sharing practices for pharmaceuticals and health care services among four central European countries
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12846790 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Petra Baji (0000-0003-2899-8557, Maastricht University, corresponding author), I Boncz (0000-0003-3699-6236, Corvinus University of Budapest), Gyorgy Jenei (Corvinus University of Budapest), László Gulàcsi (0000-0002-9285-8746, Corvinus University of Budapest) |
| Year | 2012 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 221-240 |
| Publication date | 2012-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Society and Economy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1588-970X • E-ISSN: 1588-9726 |
| Publisher | Akadémiai Kiadó (PUBLISHER • HU) |
| DOI | 10.1556/socec.34.2012.2.3 |
| OpenAlex | W1992329170 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 16 |
The paper reviews the existing cost-sharing practices in four Central European countries namely the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia focusing on patient co-payments for pharmaceuticals and services covered by the social health insurance. The aim is to examine the role of cost-sharing arrangements and to evaluate them in terms of efficiency, equity and public acceptance to support policy making on patient payments in Central Europe. Our results suggest that the share of out-of-pocket payments in total health care expenditure is relatively high (24–27%) in the countries examined. The main driver of these payments is the expenditure on pharmaceuticals and medical devices, which share exceeds 70% of the household expenditure on health care. The four countries use similar cost-sharing techniques for pharmaceuticals, however there are differences concerning the measure of exemption mechanisms for vulnerable social groups. Patient payment policies for health care services covered by the social health insurance are also converging. All the four countries apply co-payments for dental care, some hotel services or in the case of free choice of physician. Also the countries (except for Poland) tried to extend co-payments for physician services and hospital care. However, their introduction met strong political opposition and unpopularity among public
Business · Economic growth · Economics · Health care · Global Health Care Issues · Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life · Healthcare Policy and Management · Marketing
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.15 |
| Citation span | 2013 - 2015 (3) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |