Family expenditures on healthcare plans in Brazil and household budget commitment: an analysis of the Brazilian Household Budgets Survey (2017/2018)

According to studies using previous editions of the Household Budgets Survey (POF) in Brazil, paying for a healthcare plan increases the percentage of income spent on health and fails to reduce the probability of incurring excessive health expenditures. The study’s objective was to describe relations between expenditures on healthcare plans, income, and age groups, highlighting the effect of having a plan on the probability of committing more than 40% of income on health-related expenditures. An analysis of the POF 2017/2018 determined the commitment of per capita household income for payers of plans by age group and type of plan and logistic regression for factors associated with committing more than 40% of income to health-related expenditures. In 12 months, 22.1 million Brazilians spent BRL 78.1 billion on private medical insurance. The share of income spent on individual plans increases consistently with age, from 4.5% of per capita household income (at < 19 years) to 10.6% of this income (at 79 years or older). The probability of committing more than 40% of income to health expenditures decreases with income, increases with age, and is higher for those paying for health plans. Spending on healthcare plans alone exceeds 40% of per capita household income for 5.6% of Brazilians 60 years or older who pay for individual plans and for 4% of those who pay for company plans. Persons in the oldest age groups and in the lowest income brackets show the highest likelihood of spending more than 40% of their income on healthcare. A revision of the plans’ adjustment by age is an alternative for attempting to mitigate this problem.

Keywords:
Prepaid Health Plans; Catastrophic Expenditure; Capital Financing; Aged