The Burden of Financial Distress in Healthcare

When healthcare systems fail to provide adequate financial protection for individuals seeking care, it can lead to significant economic hardship or catastrophic expenses as they must cover the costs of necessary medical services. Despite being a fundamental requirement of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), ensuring financial protection has proven challenging in many countries, particularly those with underdeveloped prepayment mechanisms. According to the 2017 Global Monitoring Report, approximately 800 million people are forced to allocate at least 10% of their household budgets to healthcare expenses for themselves and their families.

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