📢 NEW PUBLICATION ALERT!
A new article has just been published in Health Policy OPEN:
“Determinants of catastrophic healthcare spending in Portugal (2005–2022)”
✍️ Authors: Tzi Kieu Tao and Pedro Pita Barros
This study examines the evolution and impoverishing effects of catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) in Portugal between 2005 and 2022, using four waves of the Portuguese Household Budget Survey. It also identifies the household characteristics associated with greater financial vulnerability.
🔍 Key findings:
• The incidence of CHE fell from 9.42% in 2005 to 5.04% in 2022, indicating an overall improvement in financial protection against healthcare costs.
• However, this progress did not extend equally to all dimensions of financial hardship: the proportion of households impoverished after out-of-pocket health payments fluctuated over the period and was higher in 2022 than in 2005.
• Financial risk remained strongly concentrated among households with fewer economic resources. In 2022, CHE affected 11.1% of households in the lowest income quintile, compared with 1.1% in the highest.
• Households with a higher proportion of people aged 65 or over were consistently more likely to experience CHE. Households including members unable to work also showed greater vulnerability in 2022.
• Regional inequalities persisted, with the Azores recording the highest incidence in 2022, while Madeira and Alentejo also remained above the national average.
🎯 Bottom line: Portugal made clear progress in reducing CHE between 2005 and 2022, but financial protection remains uneven. Lower-income and older households, as well as populations in regions with higher levels of catastrophic expenditure, continue to face disproportionate financial risk.
🔗 Read the full article here:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpopen.2026.100171