Out of pocket expenditures on healthcare across Canadian provinces

Out of pocket (OOP) healthcare expenditures can be burdening for persons of low socioeconomic status. Little is known about socioeconomic, demographic, and health disparity in OOP healthcare expenditures in Canada. This thesis examines the trends of OOP healthcare expenditures during the 2004-2015 period in Canadian provinces using microdata files from the Canadian Research Data Center through the University of Northern British Columbia, and describes the association of OOP healthcare expenditures with various socioeconomic, demographic, and pre-existing health factors. It also estimates the contribution of these factors to the share of OOP healthcare expenditures to incomes. Regression results reveal that the share of OOP healthcare expenditures to incomes are negatively related to income, but positively related to old age, being married, larger household sizes, and pre-existing health conditions. Also, OOP healthcare expenditures are generally higher for female Canadians, and for persons residing in the provinces of Quebec, Alberta and New Brunswick.