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Study of Awareness, Enrollment, and Utilization of Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (National Health Insurance Scheme) in Maharashtra, India.

ABSTRACT: Government of India launched a social health protection program called Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) in the year 2008 to provide financial protection from catastrophic health expenses to below poverty line households (HHs). The objectives of the current paper are to assess the current status of RSBY in Maharashtra at each step of awareness, enrollment, and utilization. In addition, urban and rural areas were compared, and social, political, economic, and cultural (SPEC) factors responsible for the better or poor proportions, especially for the awareness of the scheme, were identified.The study followed mixed methods approach. For quantitative data, a systematic multistage sampling design was adopted in both rural and urban areas covering 6000 HHs across 22 districts. For qualitative data, five districts were selected to conduct Stakeholder Analysis, Focused Group Discussions, and In-Depth Interviews with key informants to supplement the findings. The data were analyzed using innovative SPEC-by-steps tool developed by Health Inc.It is seen that that the RSBY had a very limited success in Maharashtra. Out of 6000 HHs, only 29.7% were aware about the scheme and 21.6% were enrolled during the period of 2010-2012. Only 11.3% HHs reported that they were currently enrolled for RSBY. Although 1886 (33.1%) HHs reported at least one case of hospitalization in the last 1 year, only 16 (0.3%) HHs could actually utilize the benefits during hospitalization. It is seen that at each step, there is an increase in the exclusion of eligible HHs from the scheme. The participants felt that such schemes did not reach their intended beneficiaries due to various SPEC factors.The results of this study were quite similar to other studies done in the recent past. RSBY might still be continued in Maharashtra with modified focus along with good and improved strategy. Various other similar schemes in India can definitely learn few important lessons such as the need to improve awareness, issuing prompt enrollment cards with proper details, achieving universal enrollment, ongoing and prompt renewal, and ensuring proper utilization by proactively educating the vulnerable sections.

SUBMITTER: Thakur H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4703752 | biostudies-other | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Study of Awareness, Enrollment, and Utilization of Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (National Health Insurance Scheme) in Maharashtra, India.

Thakur Harshad H

Frontiers in public health 20160107

<h4>Introduction</h4>Government of India launched a social health protection program called Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) in the year 2008 to provide financial protection from catastrophic health expenses to below poverty line households (HHs). The objectives of the current paper are to assess the current status of RSBY in Maharashtra at each step of awareness, enrollment, and utilization. In addition, urban and rural areas were compared, and social, political, economic, and cultural (SP ...[more]

PMID: 26779475

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Project description:IntroductionGhana introduced capitation payment under National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), beginning with pilot in the Ashanti region, in 2012 with a key objective of controlling utilization and related cost. This study sought to analyse utilization and claims expenditure data before and after introduction of capitation payment policy to understand whether the intended objective was achieved.MethodsThe study was cross-sectional, using a non-equivalent pre-test and post-test control group design. We did trend analysis, comparing utilization and claims expenditure data from three administrative regions of Ghana, one being an intervention region and two being control regions, over a 5-year period, 2010-2014. We performed multivariate analysis to determine differences in utilization and claims expenditure between the intervention and control regions, and a difference-in-differences analysis to determine the effect of capitation payment on utilization and claims expenditure in the intervention region.ResultsFindings indicate that growth in outpatient utilization and claims expenditure increased in the pre capitation period in all three regions but slowed in post capitation period in the intervention region. The linear regression analysis showed that there were significant differences in outpatient utilization (p = 0.0029) and claims expenditure (p = 0.0003) between the intervention and the control regions before implementation of the capitation payment. However, only claims expenditure showed significant difference (p = 0.0361) between the intervention and control regions after the introduction of capitation payment. A difference-in-differences analysis, however, showed that capitation payment had a significant negative effect on utilization only, in the Ashanti region (p < 0.007). Factors including availability of district hospitals and clinics were significant predictors of outpatient health care utilization.ConclusionWe conclude that outpatient utilization and related claims expenditure increased in both pre and post capitation periods, but the increase in post capitation period was at slower rate, suggesting that implementation of capitation payment yielded some positive results. Health policy makers in Ghana may, therefore, want to consider capitation a key provider payment method for primary outpatient care in order to control cost in health care delivery.

Project description:BackgroundHealth insurance enrollment is a difficult financial decision with large health impacts. Challenges such as low health insurance literacy and lack of knowledge about choosing a plan further complicate this decision-making process. Therefore, to support consumers in their choice of a health insurance plan, it is essential to understand how individuals go about making this decision.ObjectiveThis study aims to understand the sources of information used by individuals to support their employer-provided health insurance enrollment decisions. It seeks to describe how individual descriptive factors lead to choosing a particular type of information source.MethodsAn introduction was presented on health insurance plan selection and the sources of information used to support these decisions from the 1980s to the present. Subsequently, an electronic survey of 151 full-time faculty and staff members was conducted. The survey consisted of four sections: demographics, sources of information, health insurance literacy, and technology acceptance. Descriptive statistics were used to show the demographic characteristics of the 126 eligible respondents and to study the response behaviors in the remaining survey sections. Proportion data analysis was performed using the Cochran-Armitage trend test to understand the strength of the association between our variables and the types of sources used by the respondents.ResultsIn terms of demographics, most of the respondents were women (103/126, 81.7%), represented a small household (1-2 persons; 87/126, 69%), and used their insurance 3-12 times a year (52/126, 41.3%). They assessed themselves as having moderate to high health insurance literacy and high acceptance of technology. The most selected and top-ranked sources were Official employer or state websites and Official Human Resources Virtual Benefits Counselor Alex. From our data analysis, we found that the use of official primary sources was constant across age groups and health insurance use groups. Meanwhile, the use of friends or family as a primary source slightly decreased as age and use increased.ConclusionsIn this exploratory study, we identified the main sources of health insurance information among full-time employees from a large state university and found that most of the respondents needed 2-3 sources to gather all the information that they desired. We also studied and identified the relationships between individual factors (such as age, gender, and literacy) and 2 dependent variables on the types of primary sources of information. We encountered several limitations, which will be addressed in future studies.

Project description:IntroductionHealth insurance is one of the important approaches that can help in boosting universal healthcare coverage through improved healthcare utilisation and financial protection. This objectives of this review are to identify various interventions implemented in India to promote awareness of health insurance, and to provide evidence for the effectiveness of such interventions on the awareness and uptake of health insurance by the resident Indian population.Methods and analysisA systematic review will be carried out based on the Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions. The review will include experimental and analytical observational studies that have included adult population (>18 years) in India. We will include any intervention, policy or programme that directly or indirectly affects awareness or uptake of health insurance. The following outcomes will be eligible to be included: awareness or health insurance literacy, attitude such as readiness to buy health insurance or decision making, uptake of health insurance, demand-side and supply-side factors for awareness of health insurance, and awareness as a factor for uptake and re-enrolment in health insurance. Databases such as MEDLINE (PubMed), Web of Science, Scopus, 3ie impact evaluation repository and Social Science Research Network will be searched from January 2010 to 15 July 2020. Additionally, important government websites and references of the included studies will be scanned to identify potential records. Three authors, independently, will carry out screening and data extraction. Studies will be categorised into quantitative and qualitative, and mixed-methods synthesis will be employed to analyse the findings.Ethics and disseminationThis review will be based on published studies and will not recruit human participants directly, therefore, ethical clearance is not applicable. We will disseminate the final review findings in a national or international conference and publish in a peer-reviewed journal.

Project description:BackgroundGhana introduced capitation payment method in 2012 but was faced with resistance from provider groups and civil society organizations for its perceived negative effects on quality care delivery. This study seeks to explore the views of providers to understand their preferred payment method for the various types of services they provide in order to inform the discussion and negotiations during this period of reform. Findings will not only aid the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to improve the implementation arrangements but also provide useful inputs for other low and middle-income countries (LMICs) in their quest to reform their provider payment systems.Materials and methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey of 200 credentialed health care providers' in the three regions of Ghana on providers' preference for payment method. We administered closed-ended questionnaires employing 5-point Likert scales for measurement of payment method preference. Descriptive and regression analysis were performed to examine healthcare providers' background characteristics and their association with preferred payment method for primary care.ResultsIn general, health care providers prefer the Ghana-Diagnosis-Related Grouping (G-DRG) payment method to fee-for-service and capitation payment methods. Result of bivariate analyses showed that healthcare providers' preference for payment method for primary outpatient services differed significantly by their region of residence (p<0.001). The multinomial logic model showed that being a female (p = 0.013) or healthcare provider in the Volta region (p = 0.008) was significantly associated with health provider preference for G-DRG payment method relative to fee-for-service. Similarly, being a healthcare provider in the Volta region (p = 0.026) or Medical Assistant (p = 0.032) was significantly associated with capitation relative to fee-for-service payment method.ConclusionWe conclude that the most preferred payment method across all regions is the G-DRG. However, whereas providers in the Volta region are not willing to accept capitation as payment method, this was not the case in Ashanti and Central regions. Capitation payment method as an option for primary care services in Ghana should, therefore, not be ruled out of the discussion.

Project description:BackgroundHealth insurance is an important mechanism to prevent financial hardship in the process of accessing health care. Since the launch of Nigeria's National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in 2005, only 5% of Nigerians have health insurance and 70% still finance their healthcare through Out-Of-Pocket (OOP) expenditure. Understanding the contextualized perspectives of stakeholders involved in NHIS is critical to advancing and implementing necessary reforms for expanding health insurance coverage at national and sub-national levels in Nigeria. This study explored the perspectives of sub-national level actors/stakeholders on the design and implementation challenges of Nigeria's NHIS.MethodsA descriptive case study design was used in this research. Data were collected in Ibadan, Oyo State in 2016 from health insurance regulators, healthcare providers, and policymakers. Key informant interviews (KII) were conducted among purposively selected stakeholders to examine their perspectives on the design and implementation challenges of Nigeria's National Health Insurance Scheme. Data were analysed using inductive and deductive thematic approaches with the aid of NVIVO software package version 11.ResultsImplementation challenges identified include abject poverty, low level of awareness, low interest (in the scheme), superstitious beliefs, inefficient mode of payment, drug stock-out, weak administrative and supervisory capacity. The scheme is believed to have provided more coverage for the formal sector, its voluntary nature and lack of legal framework at the subnational levels were seen as the overarching policy challenge. Only NHIS staff currently make required financial co-contribution into the scheme, as all other federal employees are been paid for by the (federal) government.ConclusionsSub-national governments should create legal frameworks establishing compulsory health insurance schemes at the subnational levels. Effective and efficient platforms to get the informal sector enrolled in the scheme is desirable. CBHI schemes and the currently approved state supported health insurance programmes may provide a more acceptable platform than NHIS especially among the rural informal sector. These other two should be promoted. Awareness and education should also be raised to enlighten citizens. Stakeholders need to address these gaps as well as poverty.

Project description:BackgroundThe National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was introduced in Ghana in 2003 to remove financial barriers and to promote equitable access to health care services. Post implementation has been characterized by increases in access and utilization of services among the insured. The uninsured have been less likely to utilize services due to unaffordability of health care costs. In this study, we explored the experiences of the insured members of the NHIS, the uninsured and health professionals in accessing and utilizing health care services under the NHIS in the Hohoe Municipality of Ghana.MethodsQualitative in-depth interviews were held with twenty-five NHIS insured, twenty-five uninsured, and five health care professionals, who were randomly sampled from the Hohoe Municipality to collect data for this study. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis.ResultsParticipants identified both enablers or motivating factors and barriers to health care services of the insured and uninsured. The major factors motivating members to access and use health care services were illness severity and symptom persistence. On the other hand, barriers identified included perceived poor service quality and lack of health insurance among the insured and uninsured respectively. Other barriers participants identified included financial constraints, poor attitudes of service providers, and prolonged waiting time. However, the level of care received were reportedly about the same among the insured and uninsured with access to quality health care much dependent on ability to pay, which favors the rich and thereby creating inequity in accessing the needed quality care services.ConclusionThe implication of the financial barriers to health care access identified is that the poor and uninsured still suffer from health care access challenges, which questions the efficiency and core goal of the NHIS in removing financial barrier to health care access. This has the potential of undermining Ghana's ability to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 3.8 of universal health coverage by the year 2030.

Dataset Information

Study of Awareness, Enrollment, and Utilization of Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (National Health Insurance Scheme) in Maharashtra, India.

Publications

Study of Awareness, Enrollment, and Utilization of Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (National Health Insurance Scheme) in Maharashtra, India.

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