Out-of-pocket expenditure
Health Economics
Definition. Out-of-pocket expenditure is the direct payment made by households to health providers at the time of service, not reimbursed by insurance or government.
Explanation
High out-of-pocket spending is the main cause of financial hardship from illness. Households with chronic conditions are especially exposed: in Türkiye, families of people with Type 1 diabetes face significant direct costs (Ardıç & Erişen, 2025). Household surveys from Georgia show that such payments can push families into poverty (Gorgodze et al., 2025).
Reducing reliance on out-of-pocket payments through pooled financing is central to universal health coverage.
Related concepts
Catastrophic health expenditure Universal health coverage (UHC) Health financing Health insurance Health equity
Read on The Health Topics
- Impact of Out-of-Pocket Costs on Type 1 Diabetes in Türkiye
- Georgia’s Healthcare Costs and Household Impoverishment
References
Ardıç, M., & Erişen, M. A. (2025). Examining out-of-pocket health expenditures of individuals with Type 1 diabetes: The case of Türkiye. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 226, 112362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diabres.2025.112362
Gorgodze, T., Zoidze, A., Catalan, J. M., & Gotsadze, G. (2025). Financial protection and universal health coverage in Georgia: An analysis of impoverishing healthcare costs using household income and expenditure surveys. BMJ Global Health, 10 (e019150). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2025-019150
Cite this entry: Kurutkan, M. N. (2026). Out-of-pocket expenditure. In The Health Topics glossary. https://healthtopic.org/glossary/out-of-pocket-expenditure/