Determinantes dos Gastos das Famílias com Saúde no Brasil

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the structure and the composition of the private spending on health care among Brazilian families. This is an important issue given not only the importance of the private component on the total expenditure on health in Brazil but also the effects of this kind of expense over the individual health status. As a result public policy makers seem to be more concerned about the population health status and the provision of health care services. The results suggest the presence of social inequalities on the use of primary and secondary heath care, since the probability to spend and the value spent were sensitive to the income and educational level of the head of the household. Regarding hospital services, the spending was less sensitive to the social-economic measures.Gastos com Saúde, Gastos per capita, Setor Privado de Saúde