Cost of Illness: Evidence from a Study in Five Resource-Poor Locations in India

This paper presents data on the cost of an illness episode and parameters affecting it. The study obtains data through a household survey carried out in 2005 in five locations among India's rural poor. The study found that:

• Median cost of one illness episode was INR 340;
• Cost of illness was lower among females in all age groups, reflecting household decisions on allocating resources for healthcare of male and female members;
• Age difference has significant impact on costs, attributed to differences in type of illnesses each age set was prone to. Older people are prone to chronic illnesses which cost more to treat;
• India is undergoing a demographic and nutritional transition, with increasing incidence of chronic diseases;
• Hospitalization constitutes a lesser proportion of total aggregate costs as compared to drugs in an illness episode;
• Locations differed in the absolute cost of care, distribution of items composing total cost of care, and healthcare supply.

The paper concludes that interventions to reduce the cost of illness should be context-specific, and that there is no “one-size-fits-all model to establish the cost of healthcare.