Household expenditure in dental health care: national estimations in Mexico for 2000, 2002, and 2004.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the expenditure on dental care of Mexican households, analyze their trends, and determine the factors associated with the decision to spend and the amount of money spent in 2000, 2002, and 2004.


METHODS
Using the National Survey of Household Income and Expenditure for 2000, 2002, and 2004, the national dental health care expenditure was calculated. To facilitate comparability across years, all expenditure was converted to pesos of 2004, using the National Consumer Price Index (11.201 pesos per USD). Proportion of households incurring catastrophic expenditures was also estimated. To evaluate the association between environmental, household, and individual characteristics with the amount of dental health care expenditure, the Heckman regression model was used to control for self-selection bias.


RESULTS
More than 6,467 million pesos (MP) were spent in 2000 (8.5 percent of all households had some expenditure), over 3,925 MP in 2002 (4 percent households), and above 5,136 MP in 2004 (5 percent households), with an average expenditure of $806, $1,000, and $987 pesos, respectively. Prevalence of catastrophic expenditure because of dental health care was 0.8 percent in 2000 compared to 0.01 and 1.8 percent in 2002 and 2004, respectively. The Heckman model showed that municipal development, stratum, and age of the head of household significantly influenced the amount spent on dental care in all 3 years. Household capacity to pay and wealth index had a positive and statistically significant association in the 3 years with the preceding decision to spend.


CONCLUSIONS
Variables associated with the amount of expenditure and the decision of spending support the existence of inequities in health care financing in the Mexican population.
Pérez-Núñez
Ricardo
R
Centro de Investigación en Sistemas de Salud del Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.
Vargas-Palacios
Armando
A
Ochoa-Moreno
Ivan
I
Medina-Solis
Carlo Eduardo
CE
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D003729:Dental Care / Q000191:economics*; D003752:Dental Health Services / Q000191:economics*; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D004468:Economics, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D008875:Middle Aged; D018803:Models, Economic; D009909:Oral Health; D012424:Rural Population; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population