The Challenges of Universal Health Insurance in Developing Countries: Experimental Evidence from Indonesia’s National Health Insurance (original) (raw)

The Challenges of Universal Health Insurance in Developing Countries: Evidence from a Large-scale Randomized Experiment in Indonesia

2019

How can developing countries increase health insurance? We experimentally assessed three approaches that simple theory suggests could increase coverage and potentially reduce adverse selection: temporary price subsidies, registration assistance, and information. Temporary subsidies attracted lower-cost enrollees, in part by reducing strategic coverage timing. While subsidies were active, coverage increased more than eightfold, at no higher unit cost to the government; after subsidies ended, coverage remained twice as high, again at no higher cost. However, subsidies are not sufficient to achieve universal coverage: the most intensive intervention-a full one-year subsidy combined with registration assistance-resulted in only 30 percent enrollment.

The Public Policy Dynamics of Increasing Health Insurance Rates in a Developing Country

KnE Social Sciences

Health insurance plays an important role in the COVID-19 pandemic. As a part of public policy, examining increasing health insurance contributions in developing countries is important to understand the dynamics, formulation processes, pros and cons, and implications for public participation. This study considered the increasing contributions of Indonesia Health Insurance (BPJS) and the findings indicated that the government faces a dilemma. On one side, the income of citizens is relatively diminished due to the restrictions on mobility as a result of the pandemic. On the other side, during the pandemic, health services need to perform well. Considering that health insurance is part of a national social security system, which is a common feature in developing countries, public health costs should be the responsibility of the State. Therefore, the increase in the BPJS Kesehatan rate needs to consider the ability of the citizen, and also ensure a positive impact on improving health ser...

Achieving Universal Coverage; Lessons From The Experience Of Other Countries For National Health Insurance Implementation In Indonesia

2017

Indonesia is not the only country that will lead to universal coverage. Several countries took an initiative to develop social security, through Universal Health Coverage (UHC) to achieve health insurance and welfare for all residents. Even, some countries have already reached universal health coverage since a few years ago. The purpose of this paper is to assess the achievement of universal coverage of the health insurance implementation in several countries. In general, some countries require considerable time to achieve universal coverage. Mechanisms and stages that need attention is on the univeral registration aspects that cover the entire population, progressive and continuous funding sources, comprehensive benefits package, the expansion of gradual coverage for diseases that can cause catastrophic expenditure, increasing capacity and mobilizing supporting resource. National Health Insurance policy in some countries can improve access to care, utilization and quality of qualit...

The Role of Health Insurance Membership in Health Service Utilisation in Indonesia

Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 2014

In 2014, Indonesia implemented a new, nationwide, subsidised universalcoverage health insurance program, under which poor Indonesians do not pay to become members and others pay a relatively low fee. This program has created a national debate about the effectiveness of the ownership of health insurance in increasing the use of health services-particularly among the poor-given the limitations in their quantity and quality. Using membership data on different health insurance programs from the 2007 rounds of Susenas and Riskesdas, this article researches the impact of having health insurance on health service utilisation, by controlling the levels of quality and quantity of health services in the area. We argue that having health insurance increases health service utilisation by approximately eight percentage points when people feel sick (or by approximately five percentage points if we include those who do not feel sick).

Institutional features of health insurance programs and their effects on developing country health systems

International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 1992

Many developing countries are considering insurance as an option for increasing resource availability in the health sector in order to alleviate financial crisis. In addition to its impact on revenues, however, an insurance program also affects the efficiency and equity of health service delivery. This article examines these consequences of health insurance by reviewing a number of critical institutional characteristics of insurance programs in four developing countries-Brazil, China, Korea and Zaire-and assessing their impact on the efficiency and equity of the health sector. The characteristics highlighted in the article are: the system for reimbursing providers; the services covered by insurance; the role of the insurer; the extent of beneficiary cost-sharing; and, the extent of the population covered by the insurance program. Indicators of health sector efficiency and equity affected by these characteristics reviewed are: cost escalation; resource allocation; the use of specific medical technologies; and, equity of access to services. Efficiency and equity problems are found to arise from the financial incentives facing providers coupled with their powerful influence over both the supply and demand for personal health services. Experience suggests that these problems are magnified when an insurer serves merely as a financial conduit for reimbursing providers. Efficiency and equity goals can be more effectively promoted by an insurance institution which actively organizes the entry of consumers into the health system and removes the financial incentives that encourage providers to increase the volume and cost of services.

Predictors of national health insurance membership among the poor with different education levels in Indonesia

BMC Public Health, 2023

Background Indonesia has made significant progress in expanding universal health coverage (UHC) through its National Health Insurance (NHI) mechanism. However, in the context of NHI implementation in Indonesia, socioeconomic disparities caused its subpopulations to have different literacy of NHI concepts and procedures, increasing the risk of healthcare access inequities. Hence, the study aimed to analyse the predictors of NHI membership among the poor with different education levels in Indonesia.

The Effect of Health Insurance on Institutional Delivery in Indonesia

Kesmas: National Public Health Journal

Institutional delivery has an impact on the decline in maternal mortality rate. In Indonesia, institutional delivery increases every year, but there are still 30%-37% mothers who deliver at home. Unfortunately, the increase is not in line with maternal mortality reduction, so that Indonesia does not achieve the fifth MDGs goal. To achieve Universal Health Coverage, Indonesia implements National Health Insurance (NHI). NHI integrates four types of health insurance, namely Askes/ASABRI, Jamsostek, Jamkesmas and Jamkesda. One of its benefits is maternal health services. Health insurance can address financial barriers on delivery in health facility. By using secondary data of National Basic Health Research 2013 and Village Potential 2011 data, this study aimed to analyze effect of health insurance on institutional delivery in Indonesia. Samples were 39,942 women aged 15-49 years old who gave birth to their last child during 2010-2013. The study used econometric approach by applying prob...

Expanding Universal Health Coverage in The Presence of Informality in Indonesia: Challenges and Policy Implications

2015

The implementation of national health insurance in Indonesia since 2014 has brought out the missing middle problem in which the non-poor informal sectors have remained uncovered from the health care due to self-enrollment. Therefore, achieving UHC in Indonesia will take a long process, especially when the proportion of non-poor informal sector in total population is large enough. This study aims at examining three main issues that may have become obstacles for informal sectors to join the program: (1) observing supply side readiness, (2) examining affordable premium and willingness to pay of informal sectors, and (3) exploring why informal workers have been reluctant to join the national health insurance. This study reports that around 53.7% of Sub National Government (SNG) faced a shortage of health facilities of 59,387 beds, though in some regions had surplus of beds (per 1000 people). This study also finds that a single premium for all over Indonesia is unfair and unaffordable fo...

Universal Health Coverage 3 Moving towards universal health coverage: health insurance reforms in nine developing countries in Africa and Asia

2012

We analyse nine low-income and lower-middle-income countries in Africa and Asia that have implemented national health insurance reforms designed to move towards universal health coverage. Using the functions-of-health-systems framework, we describe these countries’ approaches to raising prepaid revenues, pooling risk, and purchasing services. Then, using the coverage-box framework, we assess their progress across three dimensions of coverage: who, what services, and what proportion of health costs are covered. We identify some patterns in the structure of these countries’ reforms, such as use of tax revenues to subsidise target populations, steps towards broader risk pools, and emphasis on purchasing services through demand-side fi nancing mechanisms. However, none of the reforms purely conform to common health-system archetypes, nor are they identical to each other. We report some trends in these countries’ progress towards universal coverage, such as increasing enrolment in govern...