Examining out-of-pocket health expenditures of individuals with Type 1 diabetes: The case of Türkiye.

AIMS: Diabetes mellitus and its associated complications are chronic diseases that cause significant morbidity and mortality globally and have a high economic burden. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the devastating out-of-pocket expenses of Type 1 diabetes.

METHODS

In the study, 279 individuals with type 1 diabetes living in Turkey were reached using the convenience sampling method. Data collected via Google Forms were analyzed using the IBM SPSS 27.

RESULTS

The average HbA1c of the participants was 7.61, and they measured blood sugar levels more than four times a day. The participants' monthly out-of-pocket expenses were, from highest to lowest, consumables ($205.84), hospital ($113.90), healthy living ($82.62), other ($41.24), and transportation ($33.14). The total out-of-pocket expenses of individuals with type 1 diabetes were $339.94 per month and $4079.28 per year. Insulin costs were not included in these costs, as the government provides them and out-of-pocket only if purchased without prescription or social security. The participants spent an average of 30.4% of their income on managing type 1 diabetes. The most significant shares of these expenses were CGM sensors and insulin pumps.

CONCLUSION

Individuals with Type 1 diabetes incur significant expenses to manage their diabetes, and these expenses have serious destructive effects.