Assessment of the effects of cost-sharing in Yugoslavia

In this study the existing forms and amounts of cost-sharing in the Republic of Serbia (Yugoslavia) are analyzed. The level of cost-sharing is ranked according to the number and type of services involved and the relative importance with which they are viewed within the overall health-care policy of Yugoslavia. The "self-managing community of interest of health care," administratively coincident with the district, is taken as the unit of observation. Until recently, these bodies independently decided whether to introduce cost-sharing as well as the rate of cost-sharing. Therefore, the implementation of this health-policy measure differed among the districts generating inequality within health-care system. The results of simple and multiple correlation indicate that poorer districts with fewer health resources and lower levels of consumption introduced cost-sharing for more services, attempting to provide additional resources for financing of the health-care system. The multiple linear-regression model shows that population/physician ratio and the use of primary care physicians' services are the significant indicators of health-care expenditures in this territory. Considering the current economic situation in Yugoslavia and the level of development of the health-care system, the results of this cross-sectional study imply that cost-containment in health care can be achieved in a more equitable and effective manner by controlling supply of health services than by limiting demands.