scholarly journals Bismarck’s Health Insurance and the Mortality Decline

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2561-2607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Bauernschuster ◽  
Anastasia Driva ◽  
Erik Hornung

Abstract We study the impact of social health insurance on mortality. Using the introduction of compulsory health insurance in the German Empire in 1884 as a natural experiment, we estimate difference-in-differences and regional fixed effects models exploiting variation in eligibility for insurance across occupations. Our findings suggest that Bismarck’s health insurance generated a significant mortality reduction. Despite the absence of antibiotics and most vaccines, we find the results to be largely driven by a decline of deaths from infectious diseases. Further evidence suggests that statutory access to well-trained doctors was an elementary channel. This finding may be explained by insurance fund physicians transmitting new knowledge on infectious disease prevention.

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (41) ◽  
pp. 82-92
Author(s):  
Azamat Umertayev ◽  
◽  
Gulnar Kurenkeyeva ◽  
◽  

The aim of the study: To assess the current state, the balance of functions and development trends of Social Health Insurance Fund NJSC. Methods. In order to study the level of awareness of the population about the implementation of the compulsory social health insurance system (CSHI), a mass survey was conducted twice during 2019 (in May and September) with a total sample of 2,150 respondents, including all regions of Kazakhstan. Also, within the framework of the study, such indicators of the activity of the Social Health Insurance Fund as the availability of funding for 2019-2020, the amount of funding by service providers, and coverage of the population were analyzed. Results. There is a positive trend in the compulsory health insurance system: awareness of the population is growing; the population positively assesses the changes in the provision of health services; there is a twofold increase in PHC visits; the share of private spending on health is twice the ceiling recommended by WHO; the level of coverage of the population with the compulsory health insurance system is quite high - 84%. However, about 3 million of the country's citizens remain uncovered. Conclusions. It is necessary to create a system for monitoring the effectiveness of the implementation of compulsory health insurance on the basis of information systems with the further adoption of managerial decisions both at the regional level and at the republican level. The introduction of mechanisms for proactive monitoring of the quality of medical care will protect the rights of patients, as well as improve feedback with them. Key words: Compulsory social health insurance, Medical services, Health care financing, Kazakhstan


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 232
Author(s):  
Seidu Sofo ◽  
Emmanuel Thompson

<p>Maternal mortality (MMR) is the second largest cause of female deaths in Ghana. Yet, many households cannot afford the cost of skilled delivery The study utilized the Panel Data Model to examine the impact of the fee-free delivery (FDP) and the National Health Insurance Policy (NIP) exemptions on MMR in Ghana. The Demographic and Health Survey reports on Ghana from 2002 to 2009 served as the main data source. Data were analyzed using Panel data model with within group fixed effects estimator. MMR declined significantly over the period studied. Both FDP and NIP positively impacted MMR at a 5% level of significance. In addition, skilled delivery was a significant predictor of MMR. Stakeholders would do well to ensure NIP is adequately funded in order to sustain the decline in MMR.</p><p> </p><p><strong><br /></strong></p>


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony A Laverty ◽  
Thomas Hone ◽  
Philip E. Anyanwu ◽  
David Taylor Robinson ◽  
Frank de Vocht ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTA ban on smoking in cars with children was implemented in April 2015 in England and December 2016 in Scotland. With survey data from both countries (NEngland=3,483-6,920 and NScotland=232-319), we used this natural experiment to assess the impact of the ban using a difference-in-differences approach. We conducted logistic regression analyses within a Difference-in-Difference framework and adjusted for age, sex, a marker of deprivation and survey weighting for non-response. Among children aged 13-15 years, self-reported levels of regular exposure to smoke in cars were 3.4% in 2012, 2.2% in 2014 and 1.3% in 2016 for Scotland and 6.3%, 5.9% and 1.6% in England. The ban was associated with a 73% reduction (95%CI -59%, -81%) in self-reported exposure to tobacco smoke among children.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A45-A45
Author(s):  
J Leota ◽  
D Hoffman ◽  
L Mascaro ◽  
M Czeisler ◽  
K Nash ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Home court advantage (HCA) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) is well-documented, yet the co-occurring drivers responsible for this advantage have proven difficult to examine in isolation. The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in the elimination of crowds in ~50% of games during the 2020/2021 NBA season, whereas travel remained unchanged. Using this ‘natural experiment’, we investigated the impact of crowds and travel-related sleep and circadian disruption on NBA HCA. Methods 1080 games from the 2020/2021 NBA regular season were analyzed using mixed models (fixed effects: crowds, travel; random effects: team, opponent). Results In games with crowds, home teams won 58.65% of the time and outrebounded (M=2.28) and outscored (M=2.18) their opponents. In games without crowds, home teams won significantly less (50.60%, p = .01) and were outrebounded (M=-0.41, p &lt; .001) and outscored (M=-0.13, p &lt; .05) by their opponents. Further, the increase in home rebound margin fully mediated the relationship between crowds and home points margin (p &lt; .001). No significant sleep or circadian effects were observed. Discussion Taken together, these results suggest that HCA in the 2020/2021 NBA season was predominately driven by the presence of crowds and their influence on the effort exerted by the home team to rebound the ball. Moreover, we speculate that the strict NBA COVID-19 policies may have mitigated the travel-related sleep and circadian effects on the road team. These findings are of considerable significance to a domain wherein marginal gains can have immense competitive, financial, and even historical consequences.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 468-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Si Ying Tan ◽  
Xun Wu ◽  
Wei Yang

AbstractWhile moving towards unified social health insurance (SHI) is often a politically popular policy reform in countries where rapid expansion in health insurance coverage has given rise to the segmentation of SHI systems as different SHI schemes were rolled out to serve different populations, the potential impacts of reform on service utilisation and health costs have not been systematically studied. Using data from the Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), we compared the mean costs incurred for both inpatient and outpatient care under different health insurance schemes, and the impact of different SHI schemes on treatment utilisation and health care costs using a two-part model. Our results show that Urban Employee Medical Insurance, which offers the most generous benefits, incurs the highest total costs prior to reimbursement when compared to other SHI schemes. Our analysis also shows that utilisation of SHI did not show significant reduction in out-of-pocket payments for outpatients. We argue that, unless effective measures are introduced to deal with perverse provider payment incentives, the move towards a unified system with more generous benefits may usher in a new wave of cost escalation for health care systems in China.


2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 699-717 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen O. Abrokwah ◽  
Christine M. Moser ◽  
Edward Norton

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