The Demand for Supplementary Health Insurance, or Do Deductibles Matter?

1977 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 789-801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmett B. Keeler ◽  
Daniel T. Morrow ◽  
Joseph P. Newhouse
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Supplementary Health Insurance

scholarly journals Health Insurance in Myanmar: The Views and Perception of Healthcare Consumers and Health System Informants on the Establishment of a Nationwide Health Insurance System

Risks ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
Marjolein van Rooijen ◽  
Chaw-Yin Myint ◽  
Milena Pavlova ◽  
Wim Groot
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Health System ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Health Insurance System ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Insurance System ◽  
Supplementary Health Insurance ◽  
Insurance Model

(1) Background: Health insurance and social protection in Myanmar are negligible, which leaves many citizens at risk of financial hardship in case of a serious illness. The aim of this study is to explore the views of healthcare consumers and compare them to the views of key informants on the design and implementation of a nationwide health insurance system in Myanmar. (2) Method: Data were collected through nine focus group discussions with healthcare consumers and six semi-structured interviews with key health system informants. (3) Results: The consumers supported a mandatory basic health insurance and voluntary supplementary health insurance. Tax-based funding was suggested as an option that can help to enhance healthcare utilization among the poor and vulnerable groups. However, a fully tax-based funding was perceived to have limited chances of success given the low level of government resources available. Community-based insurance, where community members pool money in a healthcare fund, was seen as more appropriate for the rural areas. (4) Conclusion: This study suggests a healthcare financing mechanism based on a mixed insurance model for the creation of nationwide health insurance. Further inquiry into the feasibility of the vital aspects of the nationwide health insurance is needed.

Supplementary Health Insurance from the consumer point of view

Health Policy ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 121 (6) ◽  
pp. 708-714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giora Kaplan ◽  
Yael Shahar ◽  
Orna Tal
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Supplementary Health Insurance

Supplementary Health Insurance and Regulation of Healthcare Systems

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brigitte Dormont
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Cost Sharing ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
Private Insurance ◽  
Social Health Insurance ◽  
Social Health ◽  
Managed Competition ◽  
Benefit Package ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Supplementary Health Insurance

Most developed nations provide generous coverage of care services, using either a tax financed healthcare system or social health insurance. Such systems pursue efficiency and equity in care provision. Efficiency means that expenditures are minimized for a given level of care services. Equity means that individuals with equal needs have equal access to the benefit package. In order to limit expenditures, social health insurance systems explicitly limit their benefit package. Moreover, most such systems have introduced cost sharing so that beneficiaries bear some cost when using care services. These limits on coverage create room for private insurance that complements or supplements social health insurance. Everywhere, social health insurance coexists along with voluntarily purchased supplementary private insurance. While the latter generally covers a small portion of health expenditures, it can interfere with the functioning of social health insurance. Supplementary health insurance can be detrimental to efficiency through several mechanisms. It limits competition in managed competition settings. It favors excessive care consumption through coverage of cost sharing and of services that are complementary to those included in social insurance benefits. It can also hinder achievement of the equity goals inherent to social insurance. Supplementary insurance creates inequality in access to services included in the social benefits package. Individuals with high incomes are more likely to buy supplementary insurance, and the additional care consumption resulting from better coverage creates additional costs that are borne by social health insurance. In addition, there are other anti-redistributive mechanisms from high to low risks. Social health insurance should be designed, not as an isolated institution, but with an awareness of the existence—and the possible expansion—of supplementary health insurance.

scholarly journals Fear of catastrophic health expenditures and unrealistic expectations from supplementary health insurance: ethnic differences

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 283-289
Author(s):  
Neta HaGani ◽  
Samah Hayek ◽  
Jalal Tarabeia ◽  
Mohammad Yehia ◽  
Manfred S Green
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Health Expenditures ◽  
Health Coverage ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Accessible Information ◽  
Catastrophic Health Expenditures ◽  
Supplementary Health Insurance ◽  
Universal Health ◽  
Unrealistic Expectations

Abstract Background In Israel, the whole population is covered by comprehensive universal health insurance. Despite that, most of the population purchases supplementary health insurance (SHI). It has been shown that individuals purchase more health insurance and preventive medicine when they are uncertain of their state of health, while a majority may not fully understand basic concepts in their health insurance coverage. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of fear of catastrophic health expenditures and unrealistic expectations in purchasing SHI, which does not cover expenses for life-threatening illnesses. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among random samples of 814 Jews and 800 Arabs in Israel. A structured questionnaire was administered by telephone using random digit dialling. Log-linear regression was used to identify factors associated with reasons for purchasing SHI and expectations from SHI. Results The most common reason for purchasing SHI was fear of catastrophic health-related expenditures (41%). The most important service expected from SHI was ‘cancer medications’ (mean 4.68 [standard deviation 0.87]). Differences in the reasons for purchasing SHI and in expectations from SHI were found according to population group, age, gender and education. Conclusions Consumers’ misconceptions and fear of catastrophic health expenditures are major factors leading to the purchase of SHI, despite universal health coverage. Improved and accessible information should help consumers make informed decisions as to whether or not to purchase SHI.

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