Can people afford to pay for health care? New evidence on financial protection in the Republic of Moldova. Summary (2020)

By Iuliana Garam, Mariana Zadnipru, Valeriu Doronin, Andrei Matei, Ilaria Mosca

This review assesses the extent to which people in the Republic of Moldova experience financial hardship when they use health services, including medicines. The analysis draws on household budget survey data collected annually by the National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova (NBS) from 2008 to 2016. It focuses on two indicators of financial protection: catastrophic health spending and impoverishing health spending. It also considers the presence of access barriers leading to unmet need for health care.