Determinants of out of pocket healthcare expenditures: The case of Mugla province in Turkey

As the share of health care financing from public funds was increasing in Turkey, the utilization of the health care services has also increased, dramatically. Despite of universal health coverage, the result of this trend causes to increase the incidence of making out of pocket expenditures. The aim of this study is to evaluate the determinants of households’ health expenditures in Mugla province of Turkey. A total of 204 households living in the central district of Mugla were surveyed and questioned both for their total consumption and health expenditures, as well as their health status, demographic and socio-economic characteristics. Ordinary least square method was used for the multiple regression analysis to identify the factors that affect the out of pocket health care expenditures. In addition to other empirical studies in Turkey, the effects of relative poverty and types of income and occupation on oop expenditures were estimated. Results identify that consumption expenditure of the household, poverty, wage/income status, education, household size, having chronic disease and having elderly in the households have significant effects on the amount of out of pocket (oop) health expenditure of the households. Keywords: Health care financing; Out of pocket payments; Ordinary least square method; Turkey