Healthcare costs in the country have tripled in the last five years (between 2018 and 2023). People have been paying through the nose over two-thirds of their treatment costs out of their own purse. The rate of out-of-pocket expenditure in the country was quite high compared to the world perspective, according to media reports.
Many patients refrain from taking necessary healthcare services due to the continuous rise in out-of-pocket expenditure every year. In 2012, the government formulated the ‘Health Care Financing Strategy 2012-32’ aiming to reduce the out-of-pocket health expenditure to 32% by 2032. The Health Care Financing Strategy 2012-2032 provides a framework for developing and advancing health financing in Bangladesh. The framework and its direction are aimed at increasing the level of funding for health, ensuring an equitable distribution of the health financing burden, improving access to essential health services, reducing the incidence of impoverishment due to catastrophic health care expenditures and improving quality and efficiency of service delivery.
However, the healthcare financing strategy did not work for the people of the country. Earlier, the Directorate General of Drug Administration increased prices of 53 essential drug brands of 20 generics used in primary healthcare last year as per the pharmaceutical companies’ application. When poor and middle-income groups are bearing the brunt of price hike alongside reeling from unprecedented economic crises, increased per capita healthcare expenditure has added salts to wounds. The unprecedented drug price hike has also hit the poor of the society and middle income families hard as well.
The rate of out-of-pocket
expenditure in the country
was quite high compared
to the world perspective
The increase in prices of medicine has already directly affected the poor patients, making their lives miserable. Our country has high prevalence of non-communicable, communicable and viral disease such as cardiovascular ailments, diabetes and hypertension.
As millions of people suffer from these common health issues, it has become very difficult for them to bear their health treatment expenditure. Many people are now avoiding medical procedures and tests due to expensive medication. Considering the overall situation, the government hospitals and community clinics can play key role in providing primary healthcare services to the rural people. Simultaneously, the affluent of the society and businessmen should extend their all-out support to the poor patients for buying essential medicines.
The government should supply all essential medicines free of cost to the people after procuring them from companies at a competitive price. If the government procures drugs, it will ensure quality as well as a competitive price. Apart from these, the physicians must refrain from prescribing unnecessary drugs for commission and they should give patient hearing to the people who suffer from various diseases.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asked all concerned of the government hospitals and medical colleges and hospitals to ensure quick health services to people at low cost without turning institutions into money-making machines. However, the prices of essential medicines continued to go up at the retail level during the last five years as there is no legal mechanism to check the drug price hike. We hope that all concerned, including doctors and other teaching staff, would provide their relentless efforts to uphold the image of the country’s medical colleges. The government will have to lower the prices of life-saving drugs to ease rising burden of living cost on general people immediately.
