Dealing with Healthcare Costs: How Rising Prices Affect Medical Accessibility for Middle- and Lower-Class Households in South-Western Parts of Bangladesh

Affordability of healthcare remains a prime concern in developing countries, disproportionately impacting lower- and middle-income households. In southwestern Bangladesh, high medical costs in the face of inflationary pressures of the economy keep small family units on the margins of forgoing or delaying needed medical care. This qualitative investigation centers on how such low-income families align their health requirements with their financial limitations. Using a two-stage sampling procedure emphasizing initially purposive sampling method followed by respondent-assisted and availability-based methods, 24 participants from the Khulna district were selected for in-depth interviews. These participants were selected from a diverse range of participants living in urban and rural areas. Data were analyzed thematically through NVivo 15 software. The findings point to the observation that financial hardship has pronounced health inequities, nudging many vulnerable families toward self-medication, traditional healing, or simply postponing treatment in the face of further indisposition. The exact methods included buying medicines directly from the pharmacy without prescriptions, avoiding diagnostic tests, and mistrust in public hospitals. The study calls for an intervention from the policymakers for subsidized healthcare provision, an improved health infrastructure in rural locations, and community programs to fill the gap in accessibility and affordability. The study emphasizes the urgent need for policy interventions such as the subsidizing of health services, improving rural health infrastructure, community-based programs, etc. The investigation contributes to other policy discussions on equitable healthcare by addressing affordability and accessibility gaps and offers pragmatic solutions for alleviating healthcare exclusion in low-resource settings.