WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR HEALTH INSURANCE: THE CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN SAUDI ARABIA

Abstract

Due to rapid changes in disease pattern, demand for advance healthcare services has been increased extensively in Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, health facilities are provided free to general public. This has increased the burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases expenditure on ministry of health. On other hand, to private sector employee cooperative health insurance program is established. Saudi Government plan to extend this program to the public sector as well. In this study willingness to pay for health insurance opinion was taken from general public as they are main stakeholder. In case if government extend this private employer cooperative insurance program to other sectors whether people are willing to pay for private insurance or not. Non-probability convenience sampling technique was used to select sample size. Findings revealed that majority of people in Saudi Arabia have no chronic disease and likewise they have no private insurance ownership as well. On the basis of gender, education, income, insurance ownership, family size, chronic disease and obstacles people are significantly willing to pay for health insurance. Policy makers, & MoH can take benefits from findings of the current study and it would help them to formulate insurance premiums & provide additional source of funding for healthcare in Saudi Arabia.