Willingness to pay for improved public health care services in Saudi Arabia: a contingent valuation study among heads of Saudi households

Al-Hanawi, Mohammed Khaled; Alsharqi, Omar; Vaidya, Kirit

doi:10.1017/s1744133118000191

Cited by 30 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…71.66% of respondents indicated that economic factors influence UHC enrolment. These results are consistent with the work of Pavel S. et al, Adébayo E. F. et al, and Al-Hanawi, M. K. et al, who found in 2015 and 2020 that socio-economic factors influence willingness to pay for improved access to quality care and UHC scheme enrolment [8,10,24]. These results are consistent with other studies that have shown that individuals with higher incomes and with children are prepared to pay to reduce health risk [25,26].…”

Section: Economic Factorssupporting

confidence: 92%

Willingness to Pay for Universal Health Coverage Scheme for Maternal and Child Health Care and Services in Benin

Sossou¹,

Sossou²,

Kpozehoue³

et al. 2021

CAJPH

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Enrolment in a universal health coverage scheme is a way to access health care and services and to reduce the catastrophic health expenditures that plunge already vulnerable populations into extreme poverty. As part of the analysis of the availability and operational capacity of health services in Benin (SARA 2018), an analysis of recipients' satisfaction and their willingness to pay for Universal Health Coverage scheme was carried out in 2018. This is a cross-sectional study with an analytical focus that covered 475 health facilities and 956 recipients of health care and services selected at random in health care structures and in the community. The dependent variable studied was the willingness to pay for Universal Health Coverage scheme and the explanatory variables were those relating to socio-cultural and economic factors and the reception of the recipient in the care environment. The hybrid bidding game technique was used to estimate the amount to be paid for the Universal Health Coverage scheme. Univariate and multivariate analyses were carried out to analyse the data. The data showed that Beninese people do not have a culture of early care-seeking; they get care when the episode of illness induces a temporary incapacity for work. The results observed showed that the following factors significantly influenced willingness to pay: being able to talk to the doctor, the feeling of being valued and treated with respect, the individual's ability to pay, access to pain management and temporary incapacity. In conjunction with the willingness to pay for Universal Health Coverage scheme, the payment amount, determined using the contingent valuation method, was 767 FCFA or US$1.43 per month per individual. In view of these results and taking into account the socio-economic realities of the country where approximately 38.5% of the population is poor according to monetary poverty (Benin 2020), the pooling of health insurance coverage appears to be the solution to eliminate the financial barrier and the risks of catastrophic health expenditure. State subsidies for the contributions of populations in extreme poverty also appear necessary to ensure the sustainability, equity and sustainability of the health insurance scheme.

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Section: Economic Factorssupporting

confidence: 92%

Willingness to Pay for Universal Health Coverage Scheme for Maternal and Child Health Care and Services in Benin

Sossou¹,

Sossou²,

Kpozehoue³

et al. 2021

CAJPH

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“…36 Consequently, extending insurance, even to more Saudis across various geographical setting and gender, would yield improved preventive health outcomes for the kingdom at large. 38 In addition, the results that non-Saudis use most of the insurance by having a high probability for check-ups relative to Saudis indicate that insurance is achieving its primary objective that was envisioned when the 1999 Insurance Act was being drafted. 14 Arguably, this is a signal that insurance has indeed assisted in lifting off some of pressure from public health facilities to private providers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

<p>The Effects of Health Insurance on Health-Seeking Behaviour: Evidence from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia</p>

Al-Hanawi

Mwale

Kamninga³

2020

RMHP

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Background: Saudi Arabia's healthcare sector is growing at a hasty stride; nevertheless, the quality of healthcare consumption remains challenged by the growing caseload in free public health facilities. Insurance could ease this pressure by moving some healthcare demand to private facilities conditional on its ability to enact health-seeking behaviour. These potential effects remain under-investigated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whether health insurance nudges health-seeking behaviour using data from Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: The study used nationally representative secondary data, obtained from the Family Health Survey, conducted in 2018, in Saudi Arabia. Health-seeking behaviour was measured by individual attendance of medical check-up. To account for endogeneity due to non-random selection of individuals into insurance, the analysis employed the inverse propensity weighting and the instrumental variables methods. Results: The results revealed that health insurance leads to increased chances of going for medical check-up. The effects are higher amongst non-Saudi nationals relative to citizens. Furthermore, people who purchase personal health insurance schemes are more likely to go for checks-ups, followed by individuals provided by the private sector and government sector. Finally, the study found that insurance positively nudges hypertension, diabetes, and cholesterol specific medical check-ups. Conclusion:The findings indicated the need for health policy to increase access to health insurance in Saudi Arabia. A notable policy response is the introduction of national health insurance coverage, which has already proven in other countries as an effective measure to attain universal access to improved health. Nevertheless, results from this study highlighted variations in demand for health seeking based on type of insurance with highest returns in personal insurance. Policy should leverage on this behaviour response by introducing insurance packages that share premiums with citizens to incentivise utilisation. The results can also be used to design policy responses to demand for insurance, in the entire Arabian Gulf region, since these countries have similar health financing mechanism with Saudi Arabia.

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“…However, increased demand has seen the sector incurring huge costs for the government, which is a factor that has spurred debate for the exploration of funding alternatives. 10 , 40 , 41 Between 2013 and 2017, healthcare expenditure increased by 24%. 42 Furthermore, it was observed that public spending on health in KSA was higher than most high-income countries (71.3% for the KSA and 61.2% for high-income countries).…”

Section: The Healthcare Accessibility Situation In the Ksamentioning

confidence: 99%

<p>Effects of Financial Inclusion on Access to Emergency Funds for Healthcare in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia</p>

Al-Hanawi

Chirwa

Kamninga

et al. 2020

JMDH

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Background: Having access to convenient and quality healthcare at all times is not only a human right but also a goal that many countries strive to achieve for their population. However, access to healthcare might face blocks in the presence of financial exclusions. Saudi Arabia has, over the years, continued to pursue policy and system reforms to enhance its population's access to financial inclusion, as well as proper health coverage to improve health outcomes. This study seeks to estimate the effects of financial inclusion on the financial hardships in accessing healthcare in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This study uses a nationally representative survey conducted with 1009 adults, using the 2017 World Bank Global Findex Study data. The study estimates the conditional probability of coming up with emergency funds and the conditional probability of borrowing for medical purposes to understand access to healthcare. A composite value is created for financial inclusion using several variables for individuals' interactions with financial institutions, such as access to financial services and loans. Results: The results revealed that financially included individuals have a higher conditional probability of both borrowing for medical purposes and coming up with emergency funds, compared to those who are financially excluded. Additionally, the study showed that individuals in low-income brackets are more likely to be financially excluded and have a reduced chance of coming up with emergency funds and borrowing for medical purposes. Conclusion: These findings indicate that there is need for authorities to roll out a financial inclusion drive that will not only incentivise the financially excluded population to become included but that will also aim at promoting various financial products so that those who are already financially included have a wide range from which they can choose.

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Willingness to pay for improved public health care services in Saudi Arabia: a contingent valuation study among heads of Saudi households

Cited by 30 publications

References 36 publications

Willingness to Pay for Universal Health Coverage Scheme for Maternal and Child Health Care and Services in Benin

Willingness to Pay for Universal Health Coverage Scheme for Maternal and Child Health Care and Services in Benin

<p>The Effects of Health Insurance on Health-Seeking Behaviour: Evidence from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia</p>

<p>Effects of Financial Inclusion on Access to Emergency Funds for Healthcare in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia</p>

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