FE Today Logo

Out-of-pocket health expenditure to rise: Experts

SM NAJMUS SAKIB | June 02, 2023 00:00:00


The proposed budget for the health sector will further increase out-of-pocket health expenditure, thus enlarging people's burden and sufferings in securing healthcare services, said health experts.

They also feared that so many people would become new poor in meeting high health expenditure in Bangladesh.

The government in the proposed budget has allocated Tk 380.52 billion, 5.0 per cent out of the total budget of Tk 7.62 trillion for fiscal year (FY) 2023-24.

The allocation was 5.4 per cent in last fiscal budget.

This time, the government has allocated Tk 380.52 billion for the sector (operating and development budget).

The allocation was Tk 368.63 billion for FY23.

Prof Syed Abdul Hamid of the Institute of Health Economics said people in Bangladesh have to bear 68.5 per cent of the total health expenditure.

"We fear the expenditure will further increase in the coming days," he told the FE, citing the official data.

"We needed additional allocation in the health budget in the aftermath of Covid pandemic to reform the health sector but we got disappointed with the allocation."

"Such conventional health budget allocation must not cut out-of-pocket expenditure and ease people's burden. We need major reform in the sector, including in the budget allocation manner," Prof Hamid continued.

Public-health expert Dr Lelin Chowdhury told the FE that the allocation for the health sector would definitely increase out-of-pocket expenditure and further raise the number of poor.

"Some 6.0-million people in Bangladesh become new poor annually because of the poor healthcare system and high out-of-pocket health expenditure. This allocation will further raise the number of fresh poor."

The World Health Organisation recommends that countries like Bangladesh allocate 5.0 per cent of GDP to the health sector but "we allocate less than 1.0 per cent".

"Further cuts in the allocation will hamper the progress we made," feared Dr Lelin.

"A lion's share of the budget is mostly spent on providing health officials' salary and other expenditure. With nearly half of the doctors and nurses required in hospitals and the low budget, we cannot meet standard healthcare services."

"We expected that the budget would help reduce the out-of-pocket expenditure from nearly 70 per cent to 40 per cent but the proposed budget disappointed us," he lamented the fact.

Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal unveiled a national budget for FY 2023-24 (FY24) in parliament on Thursday.

In his budget speech, Mr Kamal said FY2022-23 would be the last year to recover from the effects of the pandemic.

The government adopted 28 stimulus packages worth Tk 2.37 trillion which was instrumental in quick economic recovery, according to the minister.

The bailout measures also helped stabilise macro-economic variables through emergency health services, food security as well as through generating employment and reducing economic losses due to Covid.

[email protected]


Share if you like