Impact of Catastrophic Expenses as a Threat to Self-employed Families in the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City

Abstract

Objective: to determine the impact of catastrophic expenses on account of health care and private educational expenses in self-employed population of Mexico. Material and methods: cross-sectional study. In 2010, face to face and semi-structured interviews were conducted in self-employed families of Mexico City. Results: interviews were conducted in a total of 133 homes (the average age was 43.5 years and 60% were women); 30% of those mentioned that medical treatments needed could be prematurely terminated or could never be started, due to the high costs involved. A negative relationship between catastrophic expenses and private education expenses in households with catastrophic expenses (p<0.001) could be demonstrated through this method. Conclusion: in the population of Mexico City catastrophic expenses play an important role in health care, as a result, economic policies in Mexico should provide programs that sufficiently cover health costs.