Noncommunicable Diseases and Gender Gap in Out-of-pocket Spending on Inpatient Health Care: An Investigation of Indian Elderly

Abstract

Summary The present study intends to examine whether there exists any gender gap in out-of-pocket spending on hospitalization between elderly men and elderly women. Data were drawn from the NSS 75th Round Health Care Survey (2017–2018) consisting of a total number of 45,299 elderly. Bivariate analysis and t-test were used to examine the disease burden and gender gap in health spending. The burden of noncommunicable diseases such as bone disease and anemia is considerably higher among elderly women than elderly men. There is a significant, positive gender gap in inpatient health spending, especially in the rural area across various diseases. Lower level of awareness, male dominance in health-related decision-making, and financial dependence are some possible factors for the gender gap. Generating awareness among households and particularly among women regarding health-care system, chronic diseases, and sources of health financing along with formulating disease-specific policy may reduce the gender gap in health spending.