Consumer over-indebtedness and health care costs: how to approach the question from a global perspective

Overview

Recent studies  have examined the role  of medical costs in declarations of personal bankruptcies within the United States.  This paper aims  to explore the question  as to whether filings  of personal bankruptcy in countries other than the  US  may  be impacted by  out-of-pocket  medical costs and as such  should be the subject of further research.  

This report is part of a series, The World Health Report 2010 Background Papers, which were written to inform the process of developing the key messages of the World Health Report 2010: Health systems financing: The path to universal coverage.