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Catastrophic health payments and health insurance: Some counterintuitive evidence from one low-income country.

Ekman, Björn LU orcid (2007) In Health Policy 83(2-3). p.304-313
Abstract
Objectives: The purpose of the study is to quantitatively analyze the role of health insurance in the determinants of catastrophic health payments in a low-income country setting. Methods: The study uses the most recent publicly available household level data from Zambia collected in 1998 containing detailed information on health care utilization and spending and on other key individual, household, and community factors. An econometric model is estimated by means of multivariate regression. Results: The main results are counterintuitive in that health insurance is not found to provide financial protection against the risk of catastrophic payments; indeed, insurance is found to increase this risk. Conclusions: Reasons for the findings are... (More)
Objectives: The purpose of the study is to quantitatively analyze the role of health insurance in the determinants of catastrophic health payments in a low-income country setting. Methods: The study uses the most recent publicly available household level data from Zambia collected in 1998 containing detailed information on health care utilization and spending and on other key individual, household, and community factors. An econometric model is estimated by means of multivariate regression. Results: The main results are counterintuitive in that health insurance is not found to provide financial protection against the risk of catastrophic payments; indeed, insurance is found to increase this risk. Conclusions: Reasons for the findings are discussed using additional available information focusing on the amount of care per illness episode and the type of care provided. The key conclusion is that the true impact of health insurance is an empirical issue depending on several key context factors, including quality assurance and service provision oversight. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
insurance, econometrics, Zambia, catastrophic effects, health financing
in
Health Policy
volume
83
issue
2-3
pages
304 - 313
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000249680800016
  • scopus:34547934289
  • pmid:17379351
ISSN
1872-6054
DOI
10.1016/j.healthpol.2007.02.004
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
2ad82cbf-3274-45d1-a220-87acf6ba9777 (old id 166288)
alternative location
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=17379351&dopt=Abstract
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 11:35:50
date last changed
2024-06-21 02:16:04
@article{2ad82cbf-3274-45d1-a220-87acf6ba9777,
  abstract     = {{Objectives: The purpose of the study is to quantitatively analyze the role of health insurance in the determinants of catastrophic health payments in a low-income country setting. Methods: The study uses the most recent publicly available household level data from Zambia collected in 1998 containing detailed information on health care utilization and spending and on other key individual, household, and community factors. An econometric model is estimated by means of multivariate regression. Results: The main results are counterintuitive in that health insurance is not found to provide financial protection against the risk of catastrophic payments; indeed, insurance is found to increase this risk. Conclusions: Reasons for the findings are discussed using additional available information focusing on the amount of care per illness episode and the type of care provided. The key conclusion is that the true impact of health insurance is an empirical issue depending on several key context factors, including quality assurance and service provision oversight.}},
  author       = {{Ekman, Björn}},
  issn         = {{1872-6054}},
  keywords     = {{insurance; econometrics; Zambia; catastrophic effects; health financing}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2-3}},
  pages        = {{304--313}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Health Policy}},
  title        = {{Catastrophic health payments and health insurance: Some counterintuitive evidence from one low-income country.}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2007.02.004}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.healthpol.2007.02.004}},
  volume       = {{83}},
  year         = {{2007}},
}