Trends in the distribution of South African health care expenditure.
The lack of critical distinction between the public and the private health sectors and what they represent has allowed the claim to be made that South African health care expenditure levels compare favourably with international standards. This paper considers the distribution of health expenditure between the public and the private sectors in South Africa, within these sectors and also on the basis of population group. The extent of maldistribution of health care resources among the people of South Africa is highlighted. The data analysed in this paper indicate that an increasing proportion of public sector expenditure has been spent on curative services, that the gap in real per capita expenditure between the 'homelands' and other public sector departments has been widening, and that per capita expenditure has been increasing more rapidly in the private sector than in the public sector, particularly in the 1980s.
McIntyre
D E
DE
Department of Community Health, University of Cape Town.
Dorrington
R E
RE
D002391:Catchment Area, Health / Q000191:economics; D003625:Data Collection; D005380:Financing, Government / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005381:Financing, Organized / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015276:Health Care Rationing / Q000639:trends*; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D013019:South Africa