Health Financing Disparity Under Ministerial Scrutiny

A report by the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare regards high levels of out-of-pocket health financing a major problem in Iran’s healthcare system. 
Iran performs worst when it comes to the healthcare access and quality index compared with other health indexes. Iranians paid 35% of total health expenditure directly as out-of-pocket expenses compared to the global average of 18% in the fiscal 2018-19, according to data by the World Bank. 
The country ranked 116th among 187 countries in terms of out-of-pocket expenses index in that year. Tehran and Kerman registered the highest and lowest levels of out-of-pocket expenditures respectively.