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Role of insurance in determining utilization of healthcare and financial risk protection in India.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Universal health coverage has become a policy goal in most developing economies. We assess the association of health insurance (HI) schemes in general, and RSBY (National Health Insurance Scheme) in particular, on extent and pattern of healthcare utilization. Secondly, we assess the relationship of HI and RSBY on out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures and financial risk protection (FRP). METHODS:A cross-sectional study was undertaken to interview 62335 individuals among 12,134 households in 8 districts of three states in India i.e. Gujarat, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (UP). Data on socio-demographic characteristics, assets, education, occupation, consumption expenditure, illness in last 15 days or hospitalization during last 365 days, treatment sought and its OOP expenditure was collected. We computed catastrophic health expenditures (CHE) as indicator for FRP. Hospitalization rate, choice of care provider and CHE were regressed to assess their association with insurance status and type of insurance scheme, after adjusting for other covariates. RESULTS:Mean OOP expenditures for outpatient care among insured and uninsured were INR 961 (USD 16) and INR 840 (USD 14); and INR 32573 (USD 543) and INR 24788 (USD 413) for an episode of hospitalization respectively. The prevalence of CHE for hospitalization was 28% and 26% among the insured and uninsured population respectively. No significant association was observed in multivariate analysis between hospitalization rate, choice of care provider or CHE with insurance status or RSBY in particular. CONCLUSION:Health insurance in its present form does not seem to provide requisite improvement in access to care or financial risk protection.

SUBMITTER: Prinja S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6363222 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Role of insurance in determining utilization of healthcare and financial risk protection in India.

Prinja Shankar S Bahuguna Pankaj P Gupta Indrani I Chowdhury Samik S Trivedi Mayur M

PloS one 20190205 2

<h4>Background</h4>Universal health coverage has become a policy goal in most developing economies. We assess the association of health insurance (HI) schemes in general, and RSBY (National Health Insurance Scheme) in particular, on extent and pattern of healthcare utilization. Secondly, we assess the relationship of HI and RSBY on out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures and financial risk protection (FRP).<h4>Methods</h4>A cross-sectional study was undertaken to interview 62335 individuals among 12,13 ...[more]

PMID: 30721253

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Project description:Several publicly financed health insurance schemes have been launched in India with the aim of providing universalizing health coverage (UHC). In this paper, we report the impact of publicly financed health insurance schemes on health service utilization, out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure, financial risk protection and health status. Empirical research studies focussing on the impact or evaluation of publicly financed health insurance schemes in India were searched on PubMed, Google scholar, Ovid, Scopus, Embase and relevant websites. The studies were selected based on two stage screening PRISMA guidelines in which two researchers independently assessed the suitability and quality of the studies. The studies included in the review were divided into two groups i.e., with and without a comparison group. To assess the impact on utilization, OOP expenditure and health indicators, only the studies with a comparison group were reviewed. Out of 1265 articles screened after initial search, 43 studies were found eligible and reviewed in full text, finally yielding 14 studies which had a comparator group in their evaluation design. All the studies (n-7) focussing on utilization showed a positive effect in terms of increase in the consumption of health services with introduction of health insurance. About 70% studies (n-5) studies with a strong design and assessing financial risk protection showed no impact in reduction of OOP expenditures, while remaining 30% of evaluations (n-2), which particularly evaluated state sponsored health insurance schemes, reported a decline in OOP expenditure among the enrolled households. One study which evaluated impact on health outcome showed reduction in mortality among enrolled as compared to non-enrolled households, from conditions covered by the insurance scheme. While utilization of healthcare did improve among those enrolled in the scheme, there is no clear evidence yet to suggest that these have resulted in reduced OOP expenditures or higher financial risk protection.

Project description:BackgroundEvidence on the effectiveness of community-based health insurance (CBHI) in low-income countries is inconclusive. This study assessed the impact of CBHI on health service utilization and financial risk protection in Ethiopia.MethodsWe conducted a comparative cross-sectional study nested within a larger national household survey in 2020. Data was collected from three groups of households-CBHI member households (n = 1586), non-member households from CBHI implementing woredas (n = 1863), and non-member households from non-CBHI implementing woredas (n = 789). Indicators of health service utilization, out-of-pocket health spending, catastrophic health expenditure, and impoverishment due to health spending among CBHI members were compared with non-members from CBHI implementing woredas and households from non-CBHI implementing woredas. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to account for possible selection bias.ResultsThe annual number of OPD visits per capita among CBHI member households was 2.09, compared to 1.53 among non-member households from CBHI woredas and 1.75 among households from non-CBHI woredas. PSM estimates indicated that CBHI members had 0.36 (95% CI: 0.25, 0.44) and 0.17 (95% CI: -0.04, 0.19) more outpatient department (OPD) visits per capita per year than their matched non-member households from CBHI-implementing and non-CBHI implementing woredas, respectively. CBHI membership resulted in a 28-43% reduction in annual OOP payments as compared to non-member households. CBHI member households were significantly less likely to incur catastrophic health expenditures (measured as annual OOP payments of more than 10% of the household's total expenditure) compared to non-members (p < 0.01).ConclusionCBHI membership increases health service utilization and financial protection. CBHI proves to be an important strategy for promoting universal health coverage. Implementing CBHI in all woredas and increasing membership among households in woredas that are already implementing CBHI will further expand its benefits.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Many LMICs have implemented Publicly Funded Health Insurance (PFHI) programmes to improve access and financial protection. The national PFHI scheme implemented in India for a decade has been recently modified and expanded to cover free hospital care for 500 million persons. Since increase in annual cover amount is one of the main design modifications in the new programme, the relevant policy question is whether such design change can improve financial protection for hospital care. An evaluation of state-specific PFHI programmes with vertical cover larger than RSBY can help answer this question. Three states in Southern India - Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have been pioneers in implementing PFHI with a large insurance cover. METHODS:The current study was meant to evaluate the PFHI in above three states in improving utilisation of hospital services and financial protection against expenses of hospitalization. Two cross-sections from National Sample Survey's health rounds, the 60th round done in 2004 and the 71st round done in 2014 were analysed. Instrumental Variable method was applied to address endogeneity or the selection problem in insurance. RESULTS:Enrollment under PFHI was not associated with increase in utilisation of hospital care in the three states. Private hospitals dominated the empanelment of facilities under PFHI as well as utilisation. Out of Pocket Expenditure and incidence of Catastrophic Health Expenditure did not decrease with enrollment under PFHI in the three states. The size of Out of Pocket Expenditure was significantly greater for utilisation in private sector, irrespective of insurance enrollment. CONCLUSION:PFHI in the three states used substantially larger vertical cover than national scheme in 2014. The three states are known for their good governance. Yet, the PFHI programmes in all three states failed in fulfilling their fundamental purpose. Increasing vertical cover of PFHI and using either 'Trusts' or Insurance-companies as purchasers may not give desired results in absence of adequate regulation. The study raises doubts regarding effectiveness of contracting under PFHIs to influence provider-behavior in the Indian context. Further research is required to find solutions for addressing gaps that contribute to poor financial outcomes for patients under PFHI.

Project description:BackgroundAfter achieving universal basic medical insurance coverage, Chinese government put the development of private health insurance (PHI) on its agenda to further strengthen financial risk protection. This paper aims to assess the level of financial protection that PHI provides for its insured households on the basis of resident basic medical insurance (RBMI).MethodsWe employed balanced panel data collected between 2015 and 2017 from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS). Catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) and impoverishment due to health spending were applied to measure the financial protection effects. Random effects panel logistic regression model was performed to identify the factors associated with CHE and impoverishment among households covered by RBMI. In the robustness test, the method of propensity score matching (PSM) was employed to solve the problem of endogeneity.ResultsFrom 2015 to 2017, the CHE incidence increased from 12.96 to 14.68 % for all sampled households, while the impoverishment rate decreased slightly from 5.43 to 5.32 % for all sampled households. In 2015, the CHE incidence and impoverishment rate under RBMI + PHI were 4.53 and 0.72 %, respectively, which were lower than those under RBMI alone. A similar phenomenon was observed in 2017. Regression analysis also showed that the households with RBMI + PHI were significantly less likely to experience CHE (marginal effect: -0.054, 95 %CI: -0.075 to -0.034) and impoverishment (marginal effect: -0.049, 95 %CI: -0.069 to -0.028) compared to those with RBMI alone. The results were still robust after using PSM method to eliminate the effects of self-selection on the estimation results.ConclusionsIn the context of universal basic medical insurance coverage, the CHE incidence and impoverishment rate of Chinese households with RBMI were still considerably high in 2015 and 2017. PHI played a positive role in decreasing household financial risk on the basis of RBMI.

Project description:ObjectiveUniversal Health Coverage aims to address the challenges posed by healthcare inequalities and inequities by increasing the accessibility and affordability of healthcare for the entire population. This review provides information related to impact of public-funded health insurance (PFHI) on financial risk protection and utilisation of healthcare.DesignSystematic review.Data sourcesMedline (via PubMed, Web of Science), Scopus, Social Science Research Network and 3ie impact evaluation repository were searched from their inception until 15 July 2020, for English-language publications.Eligibility criteriaStudies giving information about the different PFHI in India, irrespective of population groups (above 18 years), were included. Cross-sectional studies with comparison, impact evaluations, difference-in-difference design based on before and after implementation of the scheme, pre-post, experimental trials and quasi-randomised trials were eligible for inclusion.Data extraction and synthesisData extraction was performed by three reviewers independently. Due to heterogeneity in population and study design, statistical pooling was not possible; therefore, narrative synthesis was performed.OutcomesUtilisation of healthcare, willingness-to-pay (WTP), out-of-pocket expenditure (including outpatient and inpatient), catastrophic health expenditure and impoverishment.ResultsThe impact of PFHI on financial risk protection reports no conclusive evidence to suggest that the schemes had any impact on financial protection. The impact of PFHIs such as Rashtriya Swasthy Bima Yojana, Vajpayee Arogyashree and Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana showed increased access and utilisation of healthcare services. There is a lack of evidence to conclude on WTP an additional amount to the existing monthly financial contribution.ConclusionDifferent central and state PFHIs increased the utilisation of healthcare services by the beneficiaries, but there was no conclusive evidence for reduction in financial risk protection of the beneficiaries.RegistrationNot registered.

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Role of insurance in determining utilization of healthcare and financial risk protection in India.

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Role of insurance in determining utilization of healthcare and financial risk protection in India.

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