Healthcare Expenditures: The Balance Between Families And The State

Brazil and Mexico have economies marked by high informality and income disparities, waves of austerity policies from time to time, a rural-urban divide, and a high overall inequality, which also materializes itself into precarious access to healthcare. In this policy brief, we discuss in which sense private expenditures with this service are a burden to the household budget. We analyze the share of household expenditures that is allocated to healthcare, considering income, gender, ethnicity/race, rural/urban areas and the presence of elderly in households and its change over time. Over time, the share of private expenditures on healthcare is increasing, which leads to issues regarding financial constraints, disenfranchised groups, and the demographic transition, as the increase in private expenditures is not neutral regarding income, gender, race/ethnicity, rural/urban settings and the presence of elderly. Although focusing on Brazil and Mexico, we discuss the fine balance between households and the State in a more general manner when it comes to accessing key services. Increasing public expenditures on healthcare has the potential of equalizing conditions and avoiding overburdening the household budget.