title: Determinants of out-of-pocket health expenditure on children: an analysis of the 2004 Pelotas Birth Cohort.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The present study aimed to examine the impact of socioeconomic, demographic, and health status-related factors on out-of-pocket expenditure on health care for children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were obtained from a birth cohort study conducted in the city of Pelotas, state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), southern Brazil, in 2004. The final sample is a result of adjusts made in order to keep in the analysis only those that attended to 3 follow-ups (at 12, 24 and 48 months of age). Estimates were carried out using the Panel Data Tobit Model with random effects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study showed that expenditure on medicines was 20 % less likely in those considered healthy children by their mothers and, if there was any expenditure with healthy children, the expected expenditure was reduced by 58 %. A 1 % increase in household income increased the expected expenditure on medicines by 16 %, and by 23 % in children with private health insurance coverage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  All types of health care expenditures examined were higher for children covered by private health insurance. Although total health care expenditure was higher for children of better-off families, it represented a lower share of these families' income evidencing income inequality in health care expenditures.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Organizações e Mercados, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Rua Gomes Carneiro 1, Pelotas, RS, 96010-610, Brazil. marcelo.1702@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Marcelo Torres
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Epidemiologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil. abarros.epi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Aluísio J D
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Barros
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Epidemiologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil. andreadamaso.epi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Andréa D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Bertoldi
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Economia do Desenvolvimento, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. paulo.jacinto@pucrs.br.
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: de Andrade Jacinto
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Preventiva, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. amatija@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Matijasevich
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Epidemiologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil. inasantos@uol.com.br.
authors.forename: Iná S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Organizações e Mercados, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Rua Gomes Carneiro 1, Pelotas, RS, 96010-610, Brazil. cesaroviedotejada@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Cesar Augusto Oviedo
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Tejada
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D000067576:Child Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005382:Financing, Personal / Q000191:economics*; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000191:economics*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires