Medical expenses can aggravate the debt burden of households and in severe cases also lead to household bankruptcy. Using longitudinal data, this study identified various characteristics of medical expenses that could lead to household debt burden. In particular, we investigated whether household debt burden varied according to the beneficiary of medical expenses based on mental accounting. Data of 5007 households (number of observations = 34,071) from 2010 (13th wave) to 2018 (21st wave) surveys of the Korean Labor Panel were analysed using descriptive statistics and a random effect logistic regression model. Descriptive statistics showed that 8.3% of households began to feel debt burden during the survey period. The results of the random effects model revealed that the size of medical expense and debt impacted the probability of debt burden. Although medical expense support for parents or children living separately did not affect the household debt burden significantly, medical expense support for the spouse's parents increased the debt burden probability. The results showed that the household conducted mental accounting and it was driven by the subject with whom the household had a relationship. These results imply the necessity of expanding the medical insurance coverage to reduce the burden of medical expenses, and policies to supplement the gap or decrease in income caused by the occurrence of a medical event.

中文翻译：

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不同医疗费用特征对家庭债务负担发生的影响

医疗费用会加重家庭的债务负担，严重时还会导致家庭破产。本研究使用纵向数据确定了可能导致家庭债务负担的各种医疗费用特征。特别是，我们基于心理账户调查了家庭债务负担是否因医疗费用的受益人而异。使用描述性统计和随机效应逻辑回归模型分析了韩国劳工委员会 2010 年（第 13 波）至 2018 年（第 21 波）调查的 5007 户（观察次数 = 34,071）的数据。描述性统计显示，8.3%的家庭在调查期间开始感受到债务负担。随机效应模型的结果显示，医疗费用和债务的规模影响债务负担的概率。虽然对父母或分居子女的医疗费用支持对家庭债务负担没有显着影响，但对配偶父母的医疗费用支持增加了债务负担概率。结果表明，家庭进行的心理账户是由与家庭有关系的主体驱动的。这些结果意味着有必要扩大医疗保险覆盖范围以减轻医疗费用负担，并制定政策来补充因医疗事件的发生而造成的收入缺口或收入减少。结果表明，家庭进行的心理账户是由与家庭有关系的主体驱动的。这些结果意味着有必要扩大医疗保险覆盖范围以减轻医疗费用负担，并制定政策来补充因医疗事件的发生而造成的收入缺口或收入减少。结果表明，家庭进行的心理账户是由与家庭有关系的主体驱动的。这些结果意味着有必要扩大医疗保险覆盖范围以减轻医疗费用负担，并制定政策来补充因医疗事件的发生而造成的收入缺口或收入减少。