Utilization of outpatient care in Egypt and its implications for the role of government in health care provision

This paper uses data from a household survey to analyze the utilization of health care by the poor in Egypt. We find that even though the government p rovides free care, a significant proportion of the poor visit fee-for-servi ce private providers. As a result, the poor and the indigent spend dispropo rtionately larger amounts on health compared to the rich. We take this as e vidence of the failure of the governmental policy of public provision of he alth care to lead to considerable gains in rates of utilization by the poor . Our study provides empirical support for arguments favoring greater empha sis on government financing of health care instead of the direct provision that characterizes many developing countries. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevie r Science Ltd. All rights reserved.