The Effect of Catastrophic Health Expenditure on the Transition to Poverty and the Persistence of Poverty in South Korea

Abstract

25.1% of the households in this study were found to be currently facing catastrophic health expenditure, and it was determined that catastrophic health expenditure is a cause of transition to poverty. This result shows that South Korea's health security system is not an effective social safety net. As such, to prevent catastrophic health expenditure and transition to poverty, the benefit coverage of South Korea's health security system needs to the strengthened.

Changes in Economic Status of Households Associated with Catastrophic Health Expenditures for Cancer in South Korea

“…These findings are in agreement with previous studies (Su et al, 2006;Kang, 2009;Song and Shin, 2010;Kavosi et al, 2012). Furthermore, Korea has a national health care system that is not connected to employment status, unlike countries such as the United States, where work decisions may be influenced by employment-connected health insurance.…”

Catastrophic Health Expenditures and Life Satisfaction: A Case in South Korea

“…Some studies have used a wide range of threshold criteria, ranging from 5 to 40 % of the household capacity, as the threshold value for defining CHE (Raban et al 2013;Van Minh et al 2013;Wagstaff and Van Doorslaer 2003;Xu et al 2003;Yardim et al 2010;Zhang et al 2010). The most commonly adopted thresholds were in a range from 10 to 40 % in the Korean studies (Kim and Yang 2009;Lee and Shin 2005;Shin et al 2010;Sohn et al 2010;Song and Shin 2010). Thus, to define CHE, thresholds ranging from 10 to 40 % were employed in this study.…”

“…(Available from http://english.mw.go.kr). J Fam Econ Iss (2015) 36:369-382 371 Lee and Shin 2005;Sohn et al 2010). Lee and Shin (2005) found that the likelihood of experiencing CHE was higher in the lower income groups and in the households with a greater number of elderly household members; the prevalence of CHE in the lowest income group was up to 1.4-2.0 times higher than that in the highest income group.…”

“…Kim and Yang (2009) also reported that the odds of having a CHE were significantly higher in a group with low economic status. Sohn et al (2010) examined the determinants of facing CHE and found that low income, non-MA coverage, and presence of household members with chronic illnesses significantly increased the likelihood of having CHE. Gender, age, and education level of the household head also had significant effect on such likelihood.…”

“…This sacrifice in current consumption may in the short term cause loss of welfare and in the long term may lead to depleted savings or assets, causing a household to sink into a spiral of debt. A great number of studies have consistently found a strong relationship between CHE and household poverty Narcı et al 2015;Shin et al 2010;Song and Shin 2010;Van Doorslaer et al 2007).…”