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Table 4 Themes and subthemes

From: How important is income in explaining individuals having forgone healthcare due to cost-sharing payments? Results from a mixed methods sequential explanatory study

Themes

Subthemes

1. The financial barriers that affected the patient’s decision whether to use healthcare

Coverage of the (additional) health insurance plan

Amount of the cost-sharing or direct payment (in the case of a non-covered healthcare service)

2. The structural barriers related to the complex design of cost-sharing programs that affected the patient’s decision whether to use healthcare

Being unsure whether the healthcare service is covered by the basic health insurance package due to its complex design

Being unsure whether cost-sharing payments are required and unable to determine the amount of any required payments in advance due to the complexity of the billing process

3. The individual considerations of the patient that affected the patient’s decision whether to use healthcare

Perceived medical necessity of healthcare

Coping with their changed level of self-reliance due to a (chronic) condition

Previous experiences with the physician, the healthcare service and the health insurer

Fear of the consequences of the use of healthcare

Travel time and parking availabilities

4. The perceived lack of control regarding treatment choices within a given treatment trajectory that affected the patient’s decision whether to use healthcare

Perceived compulsory use of health care as part of a treatment trajectory once the trajectory has started