Whether or not to enroll, and stay enrolled? A Tanzanian cross-sectional study on voluntary health insurance

Kagaigai, Alphoncina; Mori, Amani Thomas; Anaeli, Amani; Grepperud, Sverre

doi:10.1016/j.hpopen.2023.100097

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 34 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Other studies have also shown that all countries that have managed to expand coverage of health services to the poor did so through general government revenues ( 33 ). Unaffordability and unwillingness to pay premiums are well-documented among the reasons for the poor performance of voluntary schemes in Tanzania and other developing countries ( 11 , 13 , 14 , 34 ), hence tax-based contributions to any financing strategy are largely unavoidable ( 3 , 24 , 35 – 38 ). The Ghanaian NHIS with coverage of 58%, gets 70% of its revenues from the national health insurance levy of 2.5%, which is a value-added tax imposed on goods and services ( 39 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mandatory health insurance for the informal sector in Tanzania—has it worked anywhere!

Mori

2023

Front. Health Serv.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa are struggling to expand voluntary health insurance schemes to raise finances toward achieving universal health coverage. With more than three-quarters of the population without any insurance, the government of Tanzania has unsuccessfully tried to pass a Bill proposing a mandatory, nationwide scheme to cover the large and diverse informal sector. The Bill proposed an annual premium of ∼150 USD for a household of six or 65 USD per person. Studies in Tanzania and Kenya have shown that the majority of people in the informal sector are unwilling and unable to pay premiums as low as 4 USD, mostly due to poverty. Mandatory health insurance for the informal sector is not common in this region, mostly because it is difficult to enforce. Successful insurance schemes have included significant subsidies from tax revenues. Tanzania should not seek to raise funds for health through an unenforceable insurance scheme but rather should consider a largely tax-funded scheme for the informal sector. Contributions through low-cost voluntary schemes can enhance social contracts, reduce out-of-pocket expenditure, and promote efficient utilization. In addition, progressive health taxes should be imposed on harmful products (tobacco, alcohol, sugary drinks, etc.) to raise more funds while addressing the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases. Furthermore, efficiency in the use of scarce health resources should be promoted through realistic prioritization of public services, the use of Health Technology Assessment, and strategic purchasing.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mandatory health insurance for the informal sector in Tanzania—has it worked anywhere!

Mori

2023

Front. Health Serv.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Efficiency improvement theory suggests that education can enhance the productive and allocative efficiency of health by influencing people's perceptions of health and related behaviors. Higher levels of education can increase the productivity of health, meaning that individuals with more education can achieve better health outcomes with the same health inputs (Grossman, 1972;Kagaigai et al, 2023) [29,30]. For instance, individuals with higher educational attainment can take better advantage of local medical services, better understand treatment plans, and effectively collaborate with healthcare professionals, resulting in improved health outcomes (Goldman and Smith, 2002;Williams et al, 2021) [31,32].…”

Section: Literature Review and Hypothesis Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Higher Education on Health Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from China

Liu,

Zhang,

Liu

et al. 2023

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated illness significantly damage people’s physical and mental health. Previous studies focus on the role of strong government public-health management to improve people’s health conditions. The objective of this study is to explore the specific impact of higher education on health behavior and pandemic policy, which remains relatively unexplored. Using data from the 2021 Chinese Social Survey, we employ an OLS regression to examine the effect of education on the change in health behaviors. Then, we use China’s higher education expansion as an instrumental variable to mitigate the potential endogeneity. The results reveal a positive relationship between higher education and health behaviors, both due to improved socioeconomic conditions and enhanced psychological wellbeing. Additionally, we find that the health return of higher education differs significantly between rural and urban areas, suggesting the presence of education inequality. These findings underscore the importance of higher education and individual health behavior in controlling the spread of major pandemics, emphasizing the need for public policy to consider the role of higher education in pandemic management.

show abstract

Patient’s willingness to pay for improved community health insurance in Tanzania

Tani,

Osetinsky,

Mtenga

et al. 2024

Health Policy OPEN

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Whether or not to enroll, and stay enrolled? A Tanzanian cross-sectional study on voluntary health insurance

Cited by 4 publications

References 34 publications

Mandatory health insurance for the informal sector in Tanzania—has it worked anywhere!

Mandatory health insurance for the informal sector in Tanzania—has it worked anywhere!

The Impact of Higher Education on Health Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from China

Patient’s willingness to pay for improved community health insurance in Tanzania

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About