The Direct Cost of Autism and its Economic Impact on the Filipino Family

Abstract

Background. The increasing prevalence of autism has significantly impacted the health care spending of many families worldwide. To date, families from low to middle-income countries are burdened with out-of-pocket spending as their local health care systems have yet to incorporate autism-related services into the health care infrastructure. Objectives. This study aimed to determine the direct costs of diagnosing and caring for children with autism and analyze its impact on the Filipino family. Methods. The cross-sectional study consisted of a self-administered questionnaire that looked at parents’ employment status, family income, and the direct costs for consultations, diagnostic tests, therapy, education, and medications. Study participants were parents living with their child diagnosed with autism, ages 2 to 6 years old at the time of the study. Results. One hundred fifty-eight parents participated in the survey for the cost of care for children with autism. Sixty-seven (42.4%) of parents received government or subsidized medical services for their children's consultation and/or intervention, while the rest went to private centers or hospitals. The total costs for all evaluations that confirmed the autism diagnosis ranged from ₱1,356 to ₱44,634 and averaged ₱7,411.80 per child. Overall, the mean cost of interventions post-diagnosis, including therapy, education, medications, and developmental evaluations for the first year, was ₱38,868 or ₱3,239 per month (21% percent of the monthly expenditures for a household with an income of ₱15,000/month). The total cost of care per child was closely related to the family’s revenue in the sample population. Families with higher incomes also had higher expenditures for autism-related services. Conclusion. Autism imposes a significant economic burden on Filipino families, particularly the minimum-wage household earners who spent a higher proportion of their budget (21%) on autism-related services. The wide range of total costs for the care of the children in the study may be explained by the wide variability of the expenses for the services, differences in access to services, socioeconomic status, and the wide variation in needs of children with autism due to the nature of the condition.