SDG 3.8.2 Catastrophic Health Expenditure & Coverage Gap Simulator
Catastrophic health expenditure under SDG Indicator 3.8.2 occurs when annual household out-of-pocket health spending exceeds 10% or 25% of total household consumption. WHO also tracks a 40% non-food capacity-to-pay threshold to capture impoverishment risk among low-income rural households facing chronic outpatient drug bills.
Methodological basis: WHO Global Health Expenditure Database (GHED) and UN SDG 3.8.2 metadata specifications.
SDG 3.8.2 Threshold Definitions & Policy Levers
Health planners frequently underestimate outpatient pharmaceutical exposure because individual clinic visits appear modest. Yet recurring monthly insulin, antihypertensive, and inhaled bronchodilator purchases compound across 12 months and push subsistence households above the 10% budget line before any inpatient admission occurs.
| Metric Framework | Threshold | Denominator | Recommended Policy Lever |
|---|---|---|---|
| SDG 3.8.2 Moderate CHE | 10.0% | Total household consumption | Zero-copay primary clinic consultation & generics |
| SDG 3.8.2 Severe CHE | 25.0% | Total household consumption | Annual inpatient out-of-pocket stop-loss cap |
| WHO Capacity-to-Pay | 40.0% | Non-subsistence food-adjusted outlay | Targeted fee waivers for bottom two income quintiles |
| Protected UHC Target | < 10.0% | Prepaid pooled benefit package | MedMon price-benchmarked NCD package inclusion |
Cross-check global macro baselines via the WHO GHO UHC Data Portal and World Bank UHC Indicators.