Willingness To Pay For Health Insurance Research Articles

Mediation effect of trust on willingness to pay for health insurance among co-operative members in Tanzania

This study analysed co-operative members’ willingness to pay (WTP) for health insurance. The social capital theory was adopted to analyse the mediation role of trust issues on other variables determining co-operative members’ WTP for health insurance. A single Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) was used to elicit and estimate the amount co-operative members that were willing to pay for health insurance. The Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse variables affecting co-operative members’ WTP for health insurance. Findings indicated that most co-operative members were willing to pay for health insurance. Further, except for price, trust issues fully and partially mediate quality attributes and access criteria, respectively, when it comes to WTP for health insurance. Firm trust is required among co-operators, management, health insurers, and health facilities in order to increase WTP for health insurance among co-operative members.

Willingness to Pay for Social Health Insurance and Associated Factors among Health Care Providers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Background. Cost sharing between beneficiaries and government is critical to attain universal health coverage. The government of Ethiopia introduced social health insurance to improve access to quality health services. Hence, HCP are the ultimate frontline service provider; their WTP for health insurance could influence the implementation of the scheme directly or indirectly. However, there is limited evidence on willingness to pay (WTP) for social health insurance (SHI) among health professionals. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from May 1st to August 15th, 2019. A total sample of 480 health care providers was selected using a multistage sampling method. The collected data were entered into Epi Info version 7.1 and analyzed with SPSS version 23. Binary and multiple logistic regression analysis was carried out to identify the associated factor outcome variable. The association was presented in odds ratio with 95% confidence interval and significance determined at a P value less than 0.05. Result. A total of 460 health care providers responded to the questionnaire, making a 95.8% response rate. Of the respondents, only 132 (28.7%) were WTP for SHI. Higher educational status [AOR = 2.9, 95% CI (1.2-7.3)], higher monthly income [AOR = 2.2, 95% CI (1.2-4.3)], recent family illness [AOR = 2.4, 95% CI (1.4-4.4)], and a good awareness about SHI [AOR = 4.4, 95% CI (2.4-7.8)] showed significant association with WTP for SHI. The main reasons for not WTP were thinking the government should cover the cost, preferring out-pocket payment and the provided SHI scheme does not cover all the health care costs health care providers lost interest in pay for SHI. Conclusion and Recommendation. The majority of health care providers were not willing to pay for the introduced SHI scheme. The provided SHI scheme should be clear and provide special consideration for health care providers as the majority of them receives free health care service from their employer health care institution. Also, the government, health professional associations, and other concerned stakeholders should provide awareness creation programs by targeting low and middle-level health professionals in order to increase WTP for SHI among health care providers.

Willingness to Pay for Family Health Insurance: Evidence from Baglung and Kailali Districts of Nepal

INTRODUCTION: The Government of Nepal introduced a health insurance programme in three districts in 2016. However, it seems that there has not been systematic evidence on whether the current contribution amount (CCA) needed for enrolling in health insurance (HI), is acceptable for those who are willing to enroll. This article aims to assess the respondents' willingness to pay (WTP) for HI. 
 
 METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 810 randomly selected households in Baglung and Kailali districts and the data was collected using a validated schedule. The socio-demographic characteristics were considered as independent and the WTP as dependent variables respectively. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis were performed. 
 
 RESULTS: Of the total respondents, 74 percent expressed that they could pay nearly three times as much as the CCA. Mean differences in WTP for HI were observed in terms of districts (p<0.001), sex of the respondents (p<0.01), household headship (p<0.05), mother tongue (p<0.001), wealth status (p<0.001), presence of chronic diseases in the family(p<0.05), enrollment in HI(p<0.01), exposure to the radio/FM(p<0.05) and TV(p<0.01), and access to health facilities (p<0.01). The lieklyhood of WTP for HI were lower in Kailali than in Baglung (b= –0.178, p<0.001); with females than with males(b= –0.076, p<0.05); and with the age group £37 years than > 37 years(b= –0.090, p<0.05).
 
 CONCLUSION: The WTP for HI was nearly three times as high as the CCA for all health services if available to them. More than one fourth of the respondents did not know about HI. Therefore, appropriate interventions are needed for awareness raising which may support the WTP as well as enrollment in HI.

Impact of educational intervention on willingness-to-pay for health insurance: A study of informal sector workers in urban Bangladesh

BackgroundThe reliance on out-of-pocket payments for health services leads to a catastrophic burden for many households in Bangladesh. The World Health Organization suggests that risk-pooling mechanisms should be used for financing healthcare. Like many low-income countries (LIC), a large share of employment in Bangladesh is in the informal sector (88%). Inclusion of these workers in health insurance is a big challenge. Among other barriers, the “literacy gap” for health insurance” is a reason for the low insurance uptake in Bangladesh. The aim of this study is, therefore, to assess the impact of an educational intervention on willingness-to-pay (WTP) for health insurance among informal sector workers in urban Bangladesh.MethodAn educational intervention on occupational solidarity and health insurance is offered to groups of informal workers. Educational sessions take place once a week (3–4 hours) during three subsequent weeks for each occupational group. For assessing the impact of the educational intervention, WTP for joining health insurance using occupational solidarity between workers in “pre- and post-treatment” periods as well as between “control and treatment” groups were compared. Multiple-regression analysis is applied for predicting WTP by educational intervention, while controlling for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.ResultsThe coefficient of variation (CoV) of the WTP is estimated in control and treatment groups and expected to be lower in the latter. The WTP for health insurance is higher (33.8%) among workers who joined the educational intervention in comparison with those who did not (control group). CoV of WTP is found to be generally lower in post-treatment period and in treatment group compared to pre-treatment period and control group respectively.ConclusionEducational interventions can be used for increasing demand for health insurance scheme using occupational solidarity among informal sector workers.