This study aims to estimate the incidence of catastrophic health expenditure and medical impoverishment among adult patients with asthma in primary care settings and to examine factors associated with the risk of financial catastrophe in Klang District, Malaysia.
Findings show that generally, patients and households in the Klang District, Malaysia have benefitted from the heavily subsidized public health services that are almost free. However, there was still a small proportion of patients in the lowest income quintile who still experienced financial catastrophe and impoverishment. Furthermore, the risk of financial catastrophe was significantly greater in this group.