The Influence of Development on the Proportion of Urban Households Facing Catastrophic Healthcare Expenditure in Iran (1384-1390)

This paper examines the influence of development on the dominant method of financing healthcare, the payments out- of- pocket, in 31 provinces during 1384-1390. If this kind of payments would be more than 40% of households’ capacity to pay, they encountered a catastrophic healthcare expenditure.
In this paper, the influence of development (assessed by per capita income and income inequality), inflation and unemployment rates on the proportion of households facing catastrophic healthcare expenditures in a panel data model using data extracted Statistical Center of Iran and software E-views 6 has examined.
Estimated coefficients of the Gini coefficient, unemployment and inflation rates show there are positive relations between them and the proportion of urban households facing the catastrophic healthcare expenditures. Whereas, there is a negative relation between per capita income and the mentioned proportion. Meanwhile, the elasticity of the Gini coefficient has the greatest influence on the mentioned proportion.
The results can be deduced that reform of income distribution, increase per capita income and the policies reduce the misery rate (sum of unemployment and inflation rates), which led to an improvement in society’s economic circumstances, can reduce the proportion of urban households facing the catastrophic healthcare expenditures.