Financial wellbeing during covid-19 pandemic: Concerns on medical costs

Abstract

Financial wellbeing which represents a great concern for individuals regardless of their social stature or their current employment situation constitutes an important element of individual wellbeing. This paper utilize Global Financial Inclusion Database (Global Findex, 2021) which is based on national representative surveys of about 128,000 adults across more than 120 countries. Empirical analysis in which ordered probit model was applied aim to investigate if there exists an association between financial concerns on medical costs and COVID-19. Findings of the empirical investigation reveal that being in the group of those who are very worried about financial hardship due to Covid-19 outbreak increases the probability of reporting being very worried about medical cost payments by about 34.5 percentage points. Therefore, it is seen that pandemic detrimentally related to individuals’ increased concerns over medical costs. These findings are expected to guide policy makers on the management of healthcare system and measures to improve individual wellbeing.