One in five households — 21 per cent — with chronically ill elderly members who require palliative care incurs catastrophic health expenditure, a nationwide study has revealed. “Catastrophic health expenditure” has been defined in the study as health expenditure that equals or surpasses 25 per cent of the household’s income. The analysis, just published in the journal BMC Palliative Care, drew on data from 2,903 elderly patients requiring palliative care across 2,698 households spanning all income groups. “But it is unclear whether these gains have extended to the treatment of elderly with chronic health conditions (since they depend heavily on outpatient services),” Immanuel said. The study also found that the burden of catastrophic health expenditure varied across states.

Source: The Telegraph January 31, 2026 01:43 UTC