Overview
Health systems are, of course, not just about improving health. Good ones also organize the financing of health services in such a way that people are protected from the financial consequences of illness and death. The study finds that Vietnam fares rather badly by international standards in terms of the proportion of the population experiencing catastrophic health expenses—expenses exceeding a certain percentage of nonfood consumption (figure 5). It also finds that while Vietnam’s performance on this yardstick improved during the 1990s, it has not apparently done so during the 2000s. The study also finds that inpatient expenses account for only half of the spending of households experiencing catastrophic spending, with the other half due to the steady drip-drip-drip of spending on drugs and outpatient visits. Recent increases in the incidence of catastrophic spending have been most pronounced in the southeast and Mekong Delta.
Figure 5: Catastrophic Household Health Expenses, Vietnam and Other East Asian Countries Vietnam Thailand Taiwan (China) Philippines Korea Indonesia Hong Kong SAR China 0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
% households exceeding threshold 40% nonfood consumption Source: Van Doorslaer, O’Donnell, et al.
25% nonfood consumption
9