The expenditures of retirees and pensioners on healthcare and drugs.
Aging of Polish society increases the demand for medical services and drugs. Alleviated consumption of medical services and drugs generates costs that are partially incurred by the state and by citizens themselves. This paper shows the amount of expenditures on healthcare and drugs incurred by the households of retirees and pensioners, including their income status (ten decile income groups) in the period of 1993-2005. In these years differences in the level of available income among the households of retirees and pensioners slightly increased. Among the households of retirees and pensioners of all income groups both, the increase in real value of healthcare expenditures and the increase in the share of healthcare expenditures in total households' expenditures were reported. The highest value of this share was noticed in the income groups V-IX. During the research period, the drug expenditures were the largest part of healthcare expenditures and their share in healthcare expenditures was gradually increasing. The comparison of the years 2005 and 1998, which was the last year before the implementation of sickness funds system (i.e. Regional Health Insurance) showed the highest growth in healthcare expenditures among the households of income groups VI-X.
Swistak
Piotr
P
Department of Basic Biomedical Science, School of Pharmacy, Division of Laboratory Medicine in Sosnowiec, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice.
Wikiński
Marek
M
Swistak
Justyna
J
Błońska-Fajfrowska
Barbara
B
D005102:Health Expenditures; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007348:Insurance, Health