Household Spending Increases on Health, Treatment and Insurance

EghtesadOnline: The average Iranian household living in urban areas spent 49.64 million rials ($184) on health in the last fiscal year (March 2019-20), marking a 16.1% increase from 42.75 million rials ($158) they spent in the fiscal 2018-19, according to a report by the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare’s Statistics and Strategic Data Center.

News ID: ۷۵۱۴۵۸

11 November 2020

The average annual expense of an urban household increased by 20.8% last year (March 2019-20) to stand at 486 million rials ($1,806) compared with 402 million rials ($1,494) of the preceding year.

The center divides health expenses into two groups of “hygiene and treatment” and “social and medical insurance”.

The “hygiene and treatment” costs accounted for 33.34 million rials ($123), up 12.1% year-on-year, and those of “social and medical insurance” constituted 16.3 million rials ($60), up 25.5% YOY of total expenditure for urban families in the fiscal 2019-20.

Findings also show that health expenses accounted for 10.2% of urban households’ overall expenditure and 13.5% of their non-food expenses.

Health spending has been the fourth largest contributor to the overall spending of urban household with 10.2% after “housing and fuels” with 35.5%, “food and tobacco” with 24.2% and “transportation and communications” with 11.5%.

The share of health expenses in urban households’ overall expenses was the highest for the 10th income decile (the richest) with 11.8% and lowest for the first decile with 7.4% (the poorest).

Health expenditure of urban households belonging to the 10th income decile and those who were in the first income decile stood at 159.85 million rials ($594) and 9.45 million rials ($35), respectively.

In other words, urban households in the 10th income decile spent 17 times more than those spent by the first decile with the lowest income on health.

As for those living in rural areas, health expenses increased by 9.3% for families living in rural areas last year: from 24.12 million rials ($89) in the year ending March 2019 to 26.37 million rials ($98) in the year ending March 2020.

The average annual expense of a rural household increased by 22% last year (March 2019-20) to stand at 265 million rials ($985) compared with 218 million rials ($810) of the preceding year.

The “hygiene and treatment” costs accounted for 19.72 million rials ($73)—up 5.6% YOY—and those of social and medical insurances constituted 6.64 million rials ($24)—up 22.1% YOY—of total expenditure of rural families.

Health spending accounted for 9.9% of rural households’ overall expenditure and 16.2% of their non-food expenses last year.

Health expense has been the fourth largest contributor to the overall spending of rural household with 9.9% after “food and tobacco” with 38.6%, “housing and fuels” with 17.7% and “transportation and communications” with 12.8%.

The share of health spending in the overall expenditure of rural households has been the highest for 10th decile with 11.9% and lowest for the first decile with 6.2%.

Health expenditure of rural households belonging to the 10th income decile, i.e., those with the highest income, and those in the first income decile, i.e., those with the lowest income, stood at 78.8 million rials ($292) and 3.51 million rials ($130), respectively.

In other words, rural households in the 10th income decile spent 25 times more than those spent by the first decile with the lowest income on health and treatment.

Average spending on health and treatment by an urban household was 1.9 times as much as rural household.

The average Consumer Price Index of “health and treatment” in the 12-month period ending March 19, 2020, which marks the final day of the fiscal 2019-20 grew by 25.9% compared with last year’s corresponding period.