The study data from the health and consumption surveys of National Sample Surveys over 14 years to overcome these limitations and estimated the incidence and intensity of CHE and impoverishment using the capacity-to-pay (CTP) approach.
The incidence of CHE for health services in India was 12.5% in 2004, 13.4% in 2014 and 9.1% by 2018. Among those households incurring CHE, they spent 1.25 times their capacity to pay in 2004 (intensity of CHE), 1.71 times in 2014 and 1.31 times by 2018. The impoverishment due to health spending was 4.8% in 2004, 5.1% in 2014 and 3.3% in 2018.
The concentration curves suggest that the CHE was concentrated among the poor. The odds of incurring CHE were lowest among the richest households, households with elderly members and households using both inpatient and outpatient services.
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