title: Relative financial burden of health care expenditures.
abstract: Out-of-pocket health expenditures potentially have a large impact on patients, particularly those with low incomes, leading to reduced utilization of health services and even bankruptcy. This analysis examines the burden of out-of-pocket spending, relative to total income, across several demographic groups. Rural residents had a higher relative burden than urban residents, as did women and Whites. Important policy implications are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina 29203, USA. kevin.bennett@sc.edu
authors.forename: Kevin J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: M Paige
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Powell
authors.forename: Janice C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Probst
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D012424:Rural Population; D012737:Sex Factors; D014481:United States; D014505:Urban Population; D044465:White People