The within-year concentration of medical care: implications for family out-of-pocket expenditure burdens.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To examine the within-year concentration of family health care and the resulting exposure of families to short periods of high expenditure burdens.

Data source

Household data from the pooled 2003 and 2004 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) yielding nationally representative estimates for the nonelderly civilian noninstitutionalized population.

Study design

The paper examines the within-year concentration of family medical care use and the frequency with which family out-of-pocket expenditures exceeded 20 percent of family income, computed at the annual, quarterly, and monthly levels.

Principal findings

On average among families with medical care, 49 percent of all (charge-weighted) care occurred in a single month, and 63 percent occurred in a sin

SUBMITTER: Selden TM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2699920 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature