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Are the poor too poor to demand health insurance?
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Are the poor too poor to demand health insurance?

Author

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  • Rajeev Ahuja

    (Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations)

  • Johannes Jutting

    (Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations)

Abstract

Community based micro insurance has aroused much interest and hope in meeting health care challenges facing the poor. In this paper we explore how institutional rigidities such as credit constraint impinge on demand for health insurance and how insurance could potentially prevent poor households from fallinginto poverty trap. In this setting, we argue that the appropriate public intervention in generating demand for insurance is not to subsidise premium but to remove these rigidities (easing credit constraint in the present context). Thus from insurance perspective as well, our analysis highlights the importance of having appropriate savings and borrowing instruments for the poor.

Suggested Citation

  • Rajeev Ahuja & Johannes Jutting, 2004. "Are the poor too poor to demand health insurance?," Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi Working Papers 118, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi, India.
    • Handle: RePEc:ind:icrier:118
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Mebratie, Anagaw D. & Sparrow, Robert & Yilma, Zelalem & Alemu, Getnet & Bedi, Arjun S., 2015. "Enrollment in Ethiopia’s Community-Based Health Insurance Scheme," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 58-76.
    2. Sukumar Vellakkal, 2013. "Determinants of Enrolment in Voluntary Health Insurance: Evidences from a Mixed Method Study, Kerala, India," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 4(2), pages 99-107, April.
    3. Mebratie, A.D. & Sparrow, R.A. & Alemu, G. & Bedi, A.S., 2013. "Community-Based Health Insurance Schemes," ISS Working Papers - General Series 568, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    4. Macha, Raphael Rasiel, 2015. "Community Based Health Insurance Schemes and Protection of the Rural Poor: Empirical evidence from Tanzania," African Journal of Economic Review, African Journal of Economic Review, vol. 3(2), July.
    5. Hermann Donfouet & Pierre-Alexandre Mahieu, 2012. "Community-based health insurance and social capital: a review," Health Economics Review, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 1-5, December.
    6. David Mark Dror, 2018. "Health Insurance Benefit Packages Prioritized by Low-Income Clients in India: Three Criteria to Estimate Effectiveness of Choice," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Financing Micro Health Insurance Theory, Methods and Evidence, chapter 13, pages 253-270, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    7. van Leeuwen, I.W., 2005. "Gender and microinsurance," ISS Working Papers - General Series 19175, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    8. Jacopo Bonan & Oliver Dagnelie & Philippe LeMay-Boucher & Michel Tenikue, 2012. "Is it all about Money? A Randomized Evaluation of the Impact of Insurance Literacy and Marketing Treatments on the Demand for Health Microinsurance in Senegal," Working Papers 216, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised Jan 2012.
    9. Mebratie, Anagaw D. & Sparrow, Robert & Yilma, Zelalem & Abebaw, Degnet & Alemu, Getnet & Bedi, Arjun S., 2019. "The impact of Ethiopia's pilot community based health insurance scheme on healthcare utilization and cost of care," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 112-119.
    10. Koen Rossel-Cambier, 2008. "Combined Micro-Finance: Selected Research Questions from a Stakeholder Point of View," Working Papers CEB 08-004.RS, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    11. Hermann Donfouet & Pierre-Alexandre Mahieu & Eric Malin, 2013. "Using respondents’ uncertainty scores to mitigate hypothetical bias in community-based health insurance studies," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 14(2), pages 277-285, April.
    12. Rajeev Ahuja, 2005. "Health Insurance for the poor in India: An analytical study," Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi Working Papers 161, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi, India.
    13. Vondolia, Godwin K. & Navrud, Ståle, 2019. "Are non-monetary payment modes more uncertain for stated preference elicitation in developing countries?," Journal of choice modelling, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 73-87.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Micro-insurance; Micro-credit; Credit Constraint; Demand for Insurance;
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