The Effect of Health Transformation Plan on Out-of-Pocket Payments of the Hospitalized Patients in Hamedan, Iran

Background: Out-of-Pocket (OOP) payment is categorized among the critical indicators of health system financing. Given the high hospitalization costs of the hospitals, the ministry of health has attempted to implement Health Transformation Plan (HTP) in Iran to reduce OOP. The purpose of this paper is to show the effects of HTP on OOP payments of the hospitalized patients in Hamedan, Iran. Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was carried out on 587 patients in the educational hospitals of Hamedan. The data obtained before and after implementing the HTP was from 2013 to 2015. Data analysis was performed using SPSS16. Results: In this study, each patient's expenditures increased by 32.2 % in 2015, compared to before the implementation of the HTP. Therefore, the health insurance organization's coverage of OOP payments decreased to 8.3 % of the total costs by a 20.2 % reduction in 2015, compared to before the implementation of the plan. Conclusion: According to the study, HTP and government health subsidies were adequate, but the total hospitalization costs had an upward trend in all funds.