Financial protection and universal health coverage in Georgia: an analysis of impoverishing healthcare costs using household income and expenditure surveys .

BACKGROUND

Financial protection, an important objective of universal health coverage, ensures that individuals can access necessary healthcare without financial hardship. It is typically assessed through two indicators: catastrophic out-of-pocket (OOP) health spending and impoverishing health spending. Despite the introduction of Georgia's Universal Health Coverage Programme (UHCP) in 2013, which covers nearly 90% of the population, the incidence of impoverishing and catastrophic health spending remains high compared with other European countries and has not changed much over the past decade.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to identify the factors associated with impoverishing health expenditures among Georgian households to inform financing policy decisions and prevent individuals from being driven into or deeper into poverty due to healthcare costs.

METHODS

We used data from the Georgian Household Income and Expenditure Surveys, spanning 2009-2023 (n=198 292 households). A survey-weighted logistic regression accounted for complex design elements such as stratification, clustering and unequal selection probabilities. The outcome variable was impoverishing health spending, defined using the relative poverty line. Andersen's behavioural model of healthcare utilisation guided explanatory variable selection.

RESULTS

OOP spending on drugs was the strongest determinant of impoverishment (OR 43.3, 95% CI 39.3 to 47.7, p<0.001). The poorest quintile was especially burdened (OR 44.5, 95% CI 22.1 to 89.7, p<0.001), with the second quintile also at elevated risk. The odds of impoverishment declined from 2009 to 2013-when benefits were targeted to the poor-but rose slightly afterwards. From 2014 to 2023, the average probability of impoverishment was around 0.34, compared with 0.28 in 2013.

DISCUSSION

The findings suggest that targeted benefits before UHCP may have offered stronger protection than the broader, less targeted approach post-2013. Enhanced coverage for outpatient drug costs-especially for the poorest-through increased public investment and progressive benefit expansion could improve financial protection.