Background and purpose: Equitable access to health services and their fair distribution in the country, especially in deprived areas, are among the major goals of health systems. The aim of this study was to investigate the amount of health insurance subsidies in different socio-economic classes in public hospitals in Babol, Iran.
Materials and methods: This cross-sectional applied study was performed in hospitals affiliated with Babol University of Medical Sciences in 2018. The statistical population consisted of 700 patients selected by simple random sampling. Data were collected using a checklist based on patient statements and a researcher-made questionnaire. SPSS V22 was used to analyze the data applying Mann Whitney and Kruskal Wallis test.
Results: The amount of health insurance subsidies for patients of middle social class was higher than other two groups (good and lower social classes). The most discount on medical bills were offered to good-social class patients and then to patients of middle and lower classes (P<0.05). Also, health insurance subsidy paid to patients with good economic status (450,000 Tomans) was higher than patients with poor economic status (430,000 Tomans) (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Current study showed that health subsidies and medical bill discounts were not commensurate with patients’ social and economic status. In fact, patients who had good conditions in terms of these characteristics, benefited more than other groups.