Healthcare expenditures of Polish households in the period of crisis

The crisis began in the United States in the final years of the first decade of the twenty-first century arrived to Poland in 2009 and became visible as well. The consequences of the crisis have the form of both micro (decrease in consumption, adaptive behavior of consumers) and macroeconomic (shrinking GDP, rising of unemployment - mainly structural); increase in the number of firm closures due to forex options, problems in the public finances, changes in the structure of consumption, deterioration of the situation of households and changes in their lifestyle, as well as the deterioration of consumer attitudes. The article is an analysis of changes in the healthcare expenditures of Polish households in the period of crisis. The purpose of this article is to discuss the surveyed households income, changes in spending in health care, the degree to which their healthcare needs are met, kind of restrictions introduced by the tested households regarding to the spending on health care, and the most important determinants affecting the expenses of this group. Summary of important considerations and conclusions end this article.