Poor families save on health, they spend 80% less - ANSA.it

(ANSAmed) – ROME, JANUARY 14 – Poor households also save on health care, and their spending is focused on drugs rather than on other types of therapies. This was stated by the report of the National Observatory on Donation Drugs Pharmaceutical Bank Foundation, presented today in Rome, according to which less than half of the demand of those in need is covered by donations.

In poor families, the report said, they spend an average of € 16.34 per month for health care, equal to about 2% of the family budget, a value much lower than the 92.45 euro spent on average by Italian households (3.7% of the budget). The figure is slightly up, as in 2006, poor households spent less than € 12 per month, equal to 1, 7% of the entire budget. Of this expenditure, approximately 12.50 Euros on a total of 16 are devoted to the purchase of drugs. This is an incidence significantly higher than the average Italian households, which spend 44 euro per month instead of drugs. The increase in poverty in Italy, with 6.8% of the population affected by this phenomenon, has meant that have increased the demands on the Pharmaceutical Bank. ” The trend of strong growth in poverty has increased the gap between need and response capabilities through donations – says the document -. If in 2007 the Day Library of Medicine could cover nearly 55% of all requests in 2013 covering the need has dropped to 43.2%.”

In 2013, the various entities connected to Banco helped nearly 680 thousand people, of whom 51% are women. Over the past two years, the presence of Italians came to 57%, and growing at an alarming rate even lower, now a third of the patients. (ANSA).