Incidence of poverty on health spending in rural areas of Yucatan, Mexico

Catastrophic health expenditure can be exacerbated when people face economic hardship, ultimately affecting the most vulnerable households and those who must pay for prolonged treatment, which can lead to widening poverty gaps and economic and health inequalities in the population. To identify health expenditure in rural Mayan areas of Yucatan and determine the incidence of extreme poverty in its distribution, a quantitative, quasi-experimental, cross-sectional research design was carried out using a sample of 261 households in the Geohydrological Reserve of the Cenotes Ring in Yucatan. Descriptive statistics were used to obtain health expenditure and an econometric model was used to assess the impacts of extreme poverty on household health expenditure. The findings show that the average annual health expenditure per household is $MXN 3,040 ($US 149.60). The distribution of household expenditure is influenced by extreme poverty status, mainly in the increase in health expenditure by 5%, a reduction in expenditure on household services, education and assets with a 3% decrease in each. The impact of extreme poverty status on the annual health expenditure of rural households is $MXN 4,059 ($US 199.75). An updated health expenditure parameter was obtained that allows for the construction of health policy programmes oriented towards the most vulnerable population and thus to break the vicious circle of poverty.