Increase in poverty gap at $1.90 ($ 2011 PPP) poverty line due to out-of-pocket health care expenditure (% of poverty line) - North America
Definition: Increase in poverty gap at $1.90 ($ 2011 PPP) poverty line due to out-of-pocket health care expenditure, as a percentage of the $1.90 poverty line. The poverty gap increase due to out-of-pocket health spending is one way to measure how much out-of-pocket health spending pushes people below or further below the poverty line (the difference in the poverty gap due to out-of-pocket health spending being included or excluded from the measure of household welfare). This difference corresponds to the total out-of-pocket health spending for households that are already below the poverty line, to the amount that exceeds the shortfall between the poverty line and total consumption for households that are impoverished by out-of-pocket health spending and to zero for households whose consumption is above the poverty line after accounting for out-of-pocket health spending.
Description: The map below shows how Increase in poverty gap at $1.90 ($ 2011 PPP) poverty line due to out-of-pocket health care expenditure (% of poverty line) varies by country in North America. The shade of the country corresponds to the magnitude of the indicator. The darker the shade, the higher the value. The country with the highest value in the region is Canada, with a value of 0.06. The country with the lowest value in the region is United States, with a value of 0.00.
Source: World Health Organization and World Bank. 2019. Global Monitoring Report on Financial Protection in Health 2019.
See also: Country ranking, Time series comparison
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Development Relevance: Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is about ensuring that all people can access the health services they need – without facing financial hardship – is key to improving the well-being of a country’s population. UHC is also an investment in human capital and a foundational driver of inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development. UHC is a target associated with the Sustainable Development Goals (target 3.8), and it relates directly to Goal 3 (Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages) and to Goal 1 (End poverty in all its forms everywhere).
Statistical Concept and Methodology: Out-of-pocket payments are those made by people at the time of getting any type of service (preventive, curative, rehabilitative, palliative or long-term care) provided by any type of provider. They include cost-sharing (the part not covered by a third party like an insurer) and informal payments, but they exclude insurance premiums. Out-of-pocket payments exclude any reimbursement by a third party, such as the government, a health insurance fund or a private insurance company. This series measures the poverty gap increase attributable to OOP health expenditures. This amount can be interpreted as the per capita amount by which on average OOP spending pushes or further pushes the household below the PL. It is defined as the difference between the poverty gap based on a measure of consumption net of OOP health expenditures and a measure of consumption gross of OOP health expenditures. The difference is expressed as a percentage of the PL.
Aggregation method: Weighted average
Periodicity: Annual
