Components of Out-of-Pocket Expenditure and Their Relative Contribution to Economic Burden of Diseases in India

IMPORTANCE: High out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) on health in India may limit achieving universal health coverage. A clear insight on the components of health expenditure may be necessary to make allocative decisions to reduce OOPE, and such details by sociodemographic group and state have not been studied in India. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the relative contribution of drugs, diagnostic tests, doctor and surgeon fees, and expenditure on other medical services and nonmedical health-related services, such as transport, lodging, and food, by sociodemographic characteristics of patients, geography, and type of illness. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A population-based cross-sectional health consumption survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation in 2018 was analyzed in this cross-sectional study. Respondents who provided complete information on costs of medicine, doctors, diagnostics tests, other medical costs, and nonmedical costs were selected. Data were analyzed from August through September 2021. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Mean and median share of components (ie, medicine, diagnostic tests, doctor fees, other medical costs, and nonmedical costs) in total health care expenditure and income were calculated. Bivariate survey-weighted mean (with 95% CI) and median (IQR) expenditures were calculated for each component across sociodemographic characteristics. The proportion of total expenditure and income contributed by each cost was calculated for each individual. Mean and median were then used to summarize such proportions at the population level. The association between state net domestic product per capita and component share of each health care service was graphically explored. RESULTS: Health expenditure details were analyzed for 43 781 individuals for inpatient costs (27 272 [64.3%] women; 26 830 individuals aged 25-64 years [59.9%]) and 8914 individuals for outpatient costs (4176 [48.2%] women; 4901 individuals aged 25-64 years [54.2%]); most individuals were rural residents (24 106 inpatients [67.0]; 4591 outpatients [63.9%]). Medicines accounted for a mean of 29.1% (95% CI, 28.9%-29.2%) of OOPE among inpatients and 60.3% (95% CI, 59.7%-60.9%) of OOPE among outpatients. Doctor consultation charges were a mean of 15.3% (95% CI, 15.1%-15.4%) of OOPE among inpatients and 12.4% (95% CI, 12.1%-12.6%) of OOPE among outpatients. Diagnostic tests accounted for a mean of 12.3% (95% CI, 12.2%-12.4%) of OOPE for inpatient and 9.2% (95% CI, 8.9%-9.5%) of OOPE for outpatient services. Nonmedical costs accounted for a mean of 23.6% (95% CI, 23.3%-23.8%) of OOPE among inpatients and 14.6% (95% CI, 14.1%-15.1%) of OOPE among outpatients. Mean share of OOPE from doctor consultations and diagnostic test charges increased with socioeconomic status. For example, for the lowest vs highest monthly per capita income quintile among inpatients, doctor consultations accounted for 11.5% (95% CI, 11.1%-11.8%) vs 21.2% (95% CI, 20.8%-21.6%), and diagnostic test charges accounted for 10.9% (95% CI, 10.6%-11.1%) vs 14.3% (95% CI, 14.0%-14.5%). The proportion of mean annual health expenditure from mean annual income was $299 of $1918 (15.6%) for inpatient and $391 of $1788 (21.9%) for outpatient services. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This study found that nonmedical costs were significant, share of total health care OOPE from doctor consultation and diagnostic test charges increased with socioeconomic status, and annual cost as a proportion of annual income was lower for inpatient than outpatient services.