TY - JOUR
T1 - The economic burden of cancers on Indian households
AU - Mahal, Ajay Singh
AU - Karan, Anup
AU - Fan, Victoria
AU - Engelgau, Michael
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - We assessed the burden of cancer on households? out-of-pocket health spending, non-medical consumption, workforce
participation, and debt and asset sales using data from a nationally representative health and morbidity survey in India for
2004 of nearly 74 thousand households. Propensity scores were used to match households containing a member diagnosed
with cancer (i.e. cancer-affected households) to households with similar socioeconomic and demographic characteristics
(controls). Our estimates are based on data from 1,645 households chosen through matching. Cancer-affected households
experienced higher levels of outpatient visits and hospital admissions and increased out-of-pocket health expenditures per
member, relative to controls. Cancer-affected households spent between Indian Rupees (INR) 66 and INR 85 more per
member on healthcare over a 15-day reference period, than controls and additional expenditures (per member) incurred on
inpatient care by cancer-affected households annually is equivalent to 36 to 44 of annual household expenditures of
matched controls. Members without cancer in cancer-affected households used less health-care and spent less on
healthcare. Overall, adult workforce participation rates were lower by between 2.4 and 3.2 percentage points compared to
controls; whereas workforce participation rates among adult members without cancer were higher than in control
households. Cancer-affected households also had significantly higher rates of borrowing and asset sales for financing
outpatient care that were 3.3 to 4.0 higher compared to control households; and even higher for inpatient care.
AB - We assessed the burden of cancer on households? out-of-pocket health spending, non-medical consumption, workforce
participation, and debt and asset sales using data from a nationally representative health and morbidity survey in India for
2004 of nearly 74 thousand households. Propensity scores were used to match households containing a member diagnosed
with cancer (i.e. cancer-affected households) to households with similar socioeconomic and demographic characteristics
(controls). Our estimates are based on data from 1,645 households chosen through matching. Cancer-affected households
experienced higher levels of outpatient visits and hospital admissions and increased out-of-pocket health expenditures per
member, relative to controls. Cancer-affected households spent between Indian Rupees (INR) 66 and INR 85 more per
member on healthcare over a 15-day reference period, than controls and additional expenditures (per member) incurred on
inpatient care by cancer-affected households annually is equivalent to 36 to 44 of annual household expenditures of
matched controls. Members without cancer in cancer-affected households used less health-care and spent less on
healthcare. Overall, adult workforce participation rates were lower by between 2.4 and 3.2 percentage points compared to
controls; whereas workforce participation rates among adult members without cancer were higher than in control
households. Cancer-affected households also had significantly higher rates of borrowing and asset sales for financing
outpatient care that were 3.3 to 4.0 higher compared to control households; and even higher for inpatient care.
UR - http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObject.action?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0071853&representation=PDF
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0071853
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0071853
M3 - Article
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 8
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 8
M1 - e71853
ER -