Relying on Whom? Correlates of Out of Pocket Health Expenditure among the Rural Elderly in Odisha, India.

The objectives of this paper are two-fold: first, to assess the healthcare utilization pattern among rural elderly and second, to examine the various covariates of Out of Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) in Odisha, India. Multiple Generalised Linear Regression Model (GLRM) was employed to explore the relative effect of various socio-economic and demographic covariates on the OOPE. Major source of financing for elderly population was their son for both inpatient and outpatient healthcare in the last episode of illness. Multivariate analysis, shows that age, saving or bank balance, risk behaviour (smoking), non-functionality, hearing defect and multi-morbidity are significantly influencing the spending pattern of the elderly on healthcare. Results suggest that there is an immediate need to relook at the existing pension schemes especially in the rural areas to manage the healthcare needs of elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]