Health insurance coverage and health care expenditure pattern in urban Mysuru, Karnataka, India

Abstract

Introduction: The increasing out of pocket (OOP) expenditure due to increasing chronic diseases and inaccessibility to quality health care system, is a major threat to the income earning capacity of both rural and urban people. India is one among the countries with high OOPE with 89.2%. Health insurance (HI) is a method to finance health care. So with this background, this study intends to know about health insurance coverage and health care expenditure in Urban Mysuru. Materials and Methods: Community based cross sectional study was done in Bannimantap area, Mysuru city. Households were selected through systematic random sampling method and data was collected using pretested semi-structured questionnaire by interview method until the calculated sample size was attained. Health insurance coverage pattern and health care expenditure were collected from head of the family. Details regarding hospitalization in previous 1 year duration were collected. A sample size of 320 was calculated based on 24% prevalence (NFHS 1V). Data was analysed using SPSS-24. Descriptive statistics like percentage, mean and standard deviation were applied. Inferential statistical tests like chi-square test were applied for association. Results: Out of the 320 households, 130 (41%) were aware of health insurance and 190 (59%) were not aware of health insurance. Among the 130 (41%) households who were aware of health insurance, only 77 households (28%) had health insurance, maximum being government health schemes. Conclusions: The coverage and awareness regarding HI is less. Keywords: Health care expenditure, OOPE, Health insurance, Mysuru city.