Publication: Financial Protection Outcomes in Four East Asian Countries During COVID-19: Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia
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2024-11-25
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2024-11-25
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This paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and financial protection in four East Asia and Pacific (EAP) countries, focusing on the dynamics of healthcare access and out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures. From 2000 to 2021, while countries in East Asia have generally seen a convergence in service coverage improvement, those in the Pacific exhibited slower progress. The pandemic has significantly stalled global health service coverage and exacerbated financial vulnerabilities due to increased OOP spending, pushing more people into financial hardship. In 2021, approximately half of the global population lacked access to essential health services, with the EAP region home to a disproportionate share of individuals burdened by high OOP costs. The analysis reveals that 38 percent of the EAP population spent more than 10 percent of their budget on health expenses, and 43 percent were pushed below the poverty line by medical expenses, highlighting the region's exposure to financial hardship. Data from Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand during the COVID-19 years indicate growing disparities in healthcare access and financial protection, especially among vulnerable populations without insurance, who are often most affected by foregone care and catastrophic expenditures. Healthcare financing trends suggest that public health expenditure (PHE) needs strengthening against the backdrop of rising OOP payments, which have increased faster than public health financing and faster than final consumption expenditure between 2015 and 2020. The findings of this paper advocate for enhanced government interventions to extend health service subsidies targeted to the poorest and to expand population coverage of pre-payment schemes for health, to improve financial protection and reducing inequities in healthcare access.
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“Yoo, Katelyn J.; Sharma, Jayendra; Eozenou, Patrick Hoang-Vu; Lemiere, Christophe. 2024. Financial Protection Outcomes in Four East Asian Countries During COVID-19: Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP) Discussion Paper; October 2024. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/42464 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
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