Kidney patients in Bangladesh have to bear average monthly expenses of Tk 46,426, with costs ranging between Tk 6,690 and Tk 210,000, according to a study of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS).
The study revealed that 92 percent of families with kidney patients faced distress trying to finance dialysis treatment in Bangladesh. While out-of-pocket expenditure is greater for richest households, the cost burden is greater for poorer households, according to the study titled, "Out-of-pocket cost of kidney dialysis in Bangladesh", presented at hotel in Dhaka's Gulshan today.
Abdur Razzak Sarkar, research fellow of BIDS, presented the study's findings. He revealed that a kidney patient has to bear an annual cost of Tk 80,280 to 25,20,000 for dialysis.
The study focused on finding out and estimating the health and financial burden of kidney dialysis patients in the country.
It highlighted that in Bangladesh, 8 lakh kidney failure patients require dialysis, but only 30,000 are able to receive it due to a lack of availability and financial limitations.
Abdur Razzak said that chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major cause of disability and death globally.
He said that kidney dialysis facilities in private hospitlas should be subsidised so that resource-poor households can also access the service. Thus, it would ensure equity in receiving dialysis.
A total of 477 hospitalised patients from public, private, and NGO healthcare facilities participated in this cross-sectional hospital-based study with face-to-face interviews conducted between November 1 and December 31 last year.
The study found that dialysis fees (35.3 percent) and medication costs (23 percent) are the largest contributors to the total treatment expenses. In total, medical costs account for 78.79 percent of the total expenditure for kidney dialysis patients.
The study also revealed that around 90 percent of the households faced catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) to finance dialysis treatment, and about 19.5 percent of the patients received fewer dialysis than the recommended number. The incidence of taking fewer dialysis than recommended was highest (30 percent) among the poorest households.
The high cost of dialysis (95 percent) was the most prevalent reason for those receiving fewer dialysis that need it, added the study.
Abdur Razzak urged the government to invest an additional budget to safeguard patients from financially catastrophic shocks and said, "Kidney patients requiring dialysis should be included in a safety net program so that financing the treatment would be easier."
Dialysis treatment should be brought under an insurance mechanism to make it more affordable, he said.
State-owned pharmaceuticals should produce more expensive drugs to reduce their cost, he added.