Catastrophic health expenditures, government transfers and remittances in Mexico

Resumen

This study analyzes pocket health expenditure in Mexico, and the main determinants which make it catastrophic, estimated considering both expenditure and income variables and incorporating government contributions and migrant remittances. It uses data from the Encuesta Nacional de Ingreso y Gasto de los Hogares (ENIGH) 2010 and probabilistic models (logit and probit) to estimate the determinants of catastrophic expenditures and the likelihood of incurring them. The results suggest that insurance status is a determinant of health expenditure, but not of the probability of catastrophic expenditures, while exogenous income has a positive relationship with both determinations.