Identifying healthcare cost drivers in Palestine.

We examine the relationship between national health expenditure and its drivers to help inform resource allocation policy decisions in Palestine. We forecast health expenditures from the financing agency perspective, and examine Granger-Causality relationships to assess implied causality between health spending and exogenous variables, using estimates of vector autoregressions. We forecast national health expenditure to be US$1.45 billion in 2015 and grow at 7% annually through 2020. This is due to expected increases in government health expenditure, and household spending, at 5% and 7%, respectively, compared to 2014. The proportion of household spending on health services is expected to increase, while the government proportion is expected to decrease over the long run due to budget constraints. Population growth, ageing and changes in chronic disease patterns contribute significantly as drivers of the increase in healthcare costs. Our results suggest a need to review and modify the current health insurance scheme.

A cost analysis of kidney replacement therapy options in Palestine.

This study provides a cost analysis of kidney replacement therapy options in Palestine. It informs evidence-based resource allocation decisions for government-funded kidney disease services where transplant donors are limited, and some of the common modalities, i.e., peritoneal dialysis (PD) and home hemodialysis (HD), are not widely available due to shortages of qualified staff, specialists, and centers to follow the patient cases, provide training, make home visits, or provide educational programs for patients. The average cost of kidney transplant was US$16,277 for the first year; the estimated cost of HD per patient averaged US$16,085 per year--nearly as much as a transplant. Consistent with prior literature and experience, while live, related kidney donors are scarce, we found that kidney transplant was more adequate and less expensive than HD. These results have direct resource allocation implications for government-funded kidney disease services under Palestinian Ministry of Health. Our findings strongly suggest that investing in sufficient qualified staff, equipment, and clinical infrastructure to replace HD services with transplantation whenever medically indicated and suitable kidney donors are available, as well as deploying PD programs and Home HD programs, will result in major overall cost savings. Our results provide a better understanding of the costs of kidney disease and will help to inform Ministry of Health and related policy makers as they develop short- and long-term strategies for the population, in terms of both cost savings and enhanced quality of life.

A cost effectiveness analysis of salt reduction policies to reduce coronary heart disease in four Eastern Mediterranean countries.

BACKGROUND: Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is rising in middle income countries. Population based strategies to reduce specific CHD risk factors have an important role to play in reducing overall CHD mortality. Reducing dietary salt consumption is a potentially cost-effective way to reduce CHD events. This paper presents an economic evaluation of population based salt reduction policies in Tunisia, Syria, Palestine and Turkey. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Three policies to reduce dietary salt intake were evaluated: a health promotion campaign, labelling of food packaging and mandatory reformulation of salt content in processed food. These were evaluated separately and in combination. Estimates of the effectiveness of salt reduction on blood pressure were based on a literature review. The reduction in mortality was estimated using the IMPACT CHD model specific to that country. Cumulative population health effects were quantified as life years gained (LYG) over a 10 year time frame. The costs of each policy were estimated using evidence from comparable policies and expert opinion including public sector costs and costs to the food industry. Health care costs associated with CHDs were estimated using standardized unit costs. The total cost of implementing each policy was compared against the current baseline (no policy). All costs were calculated using 2010 PPP exchange rates. In all four countries most policies were cost saving compared with the baseline. The combination of all three policies (reducing salt consumption by 30%) resulted in estimated cost savings of $235,000,000 and 6455 LYG in Tunisia; $39,000,000 and 31674 LYG in Syria; $6,000,000 and 2682 LYG in Palestine and $1,3000,000,000 and 378439 LYG in Turkey. CONCLUSION: Decreasing dietary salt intake will reduce coronary heart disease deaths in the four countries. A comprehensive strategy of health education and food industry actions to label and reduce salt content would save both money and lives.

Estimation of health care costs and cost recovery: the case of Rafidya Hospital in Palestine.

The purpose of this study is to develop an estimation model for health care costs and cost recovery, and evaluate service sustainability under an uncertain environment. The Palestinian National Authority's recent focus on improving financial accountability supports the need to research health care costs in the Palestinian territories. We examine data from Rafidya Hospital from 2005-2009 and use step-down allocation to distribute overhead costs. We use an ingredient approach to estimate the costs and revenues of health services, and logarithmic estimation to prospectively estimate the demand for 2011. Our results indicate that while cost recovery is generally insufficient for long-term sustainability, some services can recover their costs in the short run. Our results provide information useful for health care policy makers in setting multiple-goal policies related to health care financing in Palestine, and provide an important initiative in the estimation of health service costs.

Cost-volume-profit analysis and expected benefit of health services: a study of cardiac catheterization services.

AIM: Academic research investigating health care costs in the Palestinian region is limited. Therefore, this study examines the costs of the cardiac catheterization unit of one of the largest hospitals in Palestine. We focus on costs of a cardiac catheterization unit and the increasing number of deaths over the past decade in the region due to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). METHODS: We employ cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis to determine the unit's break-even point (BEP), and investigate expected benefits (EBs) of Palestinian government subsidies to the unit. RESULTS: Findings indicate variable costs represent 56 percent of the hospital's total costs. Based on the three functions of the cardiac catheterization unit, results also indicate that the number of patients receiving services exceed the break-even point in each function, despite the unit receiving a government subsidy. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings, although based on one hospital, will permit hospital management to realize the importance of unit costs in order to make informed financial decisions. The use of break-even analysis will allow area managers to plan minimum production capacity for the organization. The economic benefits for patients and the government from the unit may encourage government officials to focus efforts on increasing future subsidies to the hospital.

The association of willingness-to-pay and patient attributes: a cost-volume-profit analysis of cardiac catheter unit services in Ramallah Hospital, Palestine.

The purpose of this study is to examine the association of willingness-to-pay and patient attributes in relation to the multi-service cost-volume-profit structure of a cardiac catheter unit in Ramallah Hospital. This article contributes to the literature by providing primary evidence on patient willingness-to-pay, by identifying the specific break-even parameters of three hospital cardiac catheter unit service types (diagnosis, balloon, and pacemaker), and by demonstrating the cross-subsidization of patient income groups that is inherent in the existing hospital rate structure. Our results provide information useful for (1) evidence-based policy making with respect to hospital rate setting and cross-subsidies of patient income groups; (2) the advancement of hospital management, by demonstrating the estimated variable and fixed cost parameters and the impact of patient revenue mix on the profitability of cardiac catheter unit services; and (3) the advancement of theory, by documenting the relationship of patient demand and the cost of supply in a multi-patient-group, multi-service hospital setting.