Assessing the effects of population aging on health financing structures: evidence from APEC countries using panel...

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Demography
• Public Health Policy

Background:

• Global population aging presents economic and social challenges, particularly in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries.
• Rising chronic diseases and disabilities increase healthcare demand, straining public finances and healthcare costs.
• APEC nations face unique demographic shifts with significant economic, social, and political consequences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of aging indicators on health financing systems within APEC countries.
• To analyze how population aging affects public, private, and out-of-pocket health expenditures.
• To inform the development of age-sensitive and sustainable health financing strategies.

Main Methods:

• Utilized aging indicators: population proportion aged 60-80+, life expectancy at birth, and gender ratio.
• Employed panel quantile, Driscoll-Kraay, and Ridge regression methods for analysis.
• Examined health financing data (public, private, out-of-pocket) in APEC countries from 2000-2020.

Main Results:

• Life expectancy increases private health expenditures across all quartiles and reduces public health expenditures (except 90th quartile).
• The population aged 80+ increases public health expenditures and is linked to higher life expectancy and lower private health spending.
• The population aged 60+ decreases out-of-pocket health expenditures; gender ratio showed no significant impact across models.

Conclusions:

• Life expectancy is a key predictor of health expenditures, especially out-of-pocket costs.
• Policies must address the differential impacts of aging demographics on various health financing streams.
• Developing age-sensitive and sustainable health financing policies is imperative for APEC countries to manage demographic transitions effectively.