Rural-urban disparity in community-based health insurance enrollment in Ethiopia: a multivariate decomposition analysis using Ethiopian Mini Demographic Health Survey 2019.

Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, achieving universal health coverage (UHC) and protecting populations from health-related financial hardship remain challenging goals. Subsequently, community-based health insurance (CBHI) has gained interest in low and middle-income countries, such as Ethiopia. However, the rural-urban disparity in CBHI enrollment has not been properly investigated using multivariate decomposition analysis. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the rural-urban disparity of CBHI enrollment in Ethiopia using the Ethiopian Mini Demographic Health Survey 2019 (EMDHS 2019). Methods: This study used the latest EMDHS 2019 dataset. STATA version 17.0 software was used for analyses. The chi-square test was used to assess the association between CBHI enrollment and the explanatory variables. The rural-urban disparity of CBHI enrollment was assessed using the logit-based multivariate decomposition analysis. A p-value of <0.05 with a 95% confidence interval was used to determine the statistical significance. Results: The study found that there was a significant disparity in CBHI enrollment between urban and rural households (p < 0.001). Approximately 36.98% of CBHI enrollment disparities were attributed to the compositional (endowment) differences of household characteristics between urban and rural households, and 63.02% of the disparities were due to the effect of these characteristics (coefficients). The study identified that the age and education of the household head, family size, number of under-five children, administrative regions, and wealth status were significant contributing factors for the disparities due to compositional differences between urban and rural households. The region was the significant factor that contributed to the rural-urban disparity of CBHI enrollment due to the effect of household characteristics. Conclusion: There were significant urban-rural disparities in CBHI enrollment in Ethiopia. Factors such as age and education of the household head, family size, number of under-five children, region of the household, and wealth status of the household contributed to the disparities attributed to the endowment, and region of the household was the contributing factor for the disparities due to the effect of household characteristics. Therefore, the concerned body should design strategies to enhance equitable CBHI enrollment in urban and rural households.

Spatial distribution and geographical heterogeneity factors associated with households' enrollment level in community-based health insurance.

Background: Healthcare service utilization is unequal among different subpopulations in low-income countries. For healthcare access and utilization of healthcare services with partial or full support, households are recommended to be enrolled in a community-based health insurance system (CBHIS). However, many households in low-income countries incur catastrophic health expenditure. This study aimed to assess the spatial distribution and factors associated with households' enrollment level in CBHIS in Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study design with two-stage sampling techniques was used. The 2019 Ethiopian Mini Demographic and Health Survey (EMDHS) data were used. STATA 15 software and Microsoft Office Excel were used for data management. ArcMap 10.7 and SaTScan 9.5 software were used for geographically weighted regression analysis and mapping the results. A multilevel fixed-effect regression was used to assess the association of variables. A variable with a p < 0.05 was considered significant with a 95% confidence interval. Results: Nearly three out of 10 (28.6%) households were enrolled in a CBHIS. The spatial distribution of households' enrollment in the health insurance system was not random, and households in the Amhara and Tigray regions had good enrollment in community-based health insurance. A total of 126 significant clusters were detected, and households in the primary clusters were more likely to be enrolled in CBHIS. Primary education (AOR: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.31), age of the head of the household >35 years (AOR: 2.47, 95% CI: 2.04, 3.02), poor wealth status (AOR: 0.31, 95% CI: 0.21, 1.31), media exposure (AOR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.02, 2.27), and residing in Afar (AOR: 0.01, 95% CI: 0.003, 0.03), Gambela (AOR: 0.03, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.08), Harari (AOR: 0.06, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.18), and Dire Dawa (AOR: 0.02, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.06) regions were significant factors for households' enrollment in CBHIS. The secondary education status of household heads, poor wealth status, and media exposure had stationary significant positive and negative effects on the enrollment of households in CBHIS across the geographical areas of the country. Conclusion: The majority of households did not enroll in the CBHIS. Effective CBHIS frameworks and packages are required to improve the households' enrollment level. Financial support and subsidizing the premiums are also critical to enhancing households' enrollment in CBHIS.

Willingness to join community-based health insurance and its associated factors among households in Nekemte City, Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Ethiopia has been implementing community-based health insurance programs since 2011 to improve health care financing system. However, the prevalence of household willingness to join the community-based health insurance (CBHI) program and its associated factors are less explored in urban area. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess the prevalence of willingness to join community-based health insurance program and its associated factors among households in Nekemte City, Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 422 randomly selected households in Nekemte City, Ethiopia. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were performed to see the association between the independent and outcome variables using binary logistic regression model. Association was described using an adjusted odd ratio (AOR) and a 95% confidence interval (CI). Finally, p-value < 0.05 was considered the cut-off point for declaring a significant. RESULTS: Among 422 study participants, 320 (75.83%) [95% CI = 71.5-79.8%)] of the households were willing to join community-based health insurance program. The willingness to join for community-based health insurance was 3.11 times more likely among households who were in the richest quintile (AOR = 3.11; 95% CI = 1.08-8.93), 3.4 times more likely among those who were merchants (AOR = 3.40;1.33, 8.69), 2.52 times more likely among those who had history of chronic illness in the household (AOR = 2.52; 95% CI = 1.43-4.45), 4.09 times more likely among those who had the awareness about the scheme (AOR = 4.09; 95% CI = 1.97-8.47) and 3.29 times more likely among those who had the experience of borrow for medical care (AOR = 3.29; 95% CI = 1.48-7.30). CONCLUSION: Nearly three fourth of the households were willing to join community-based health insurance program, however, about one fourth of households were not willing, which is a significant public health problem. Being merchant, having awareness about the scheme, being in the richest wealth quintile, having experience of borrowing for medical care, and having history of chronic illness in the household were factors found to be significantly associated with willingness to join community based health insurance in the study area. Therefore, strengthening awareness creation at community level about the benefit package and principle of the program would increase their demand for the community-based health insurance scheme.

Community-Based Health Insurance Utilization and Its Determinants among Informal Workers: Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Ethiopia has implemented a community-based health insurance (CBHI) program to provide coverage to 80% of the population and shield underprivileged individuals from the detrimental effects of exorbitant medical expenses. However, there is a paucity of data regarding its utilization and pertinent concerns. This study aimed to evaluate the utilization of CBHI and its associated factors among informal workers in Berek District. Methods: This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted between June 15 and July 15, 2022. The sample population comprised 538 households selected using a multistage sampling approach. Data analysis was done using SPSS Version 26. Variables with P-values of less than 0.25 during the bivariate analysis were selected for multivariate analysis using binary logistic regression. The statistical significance threshold was set at a p-value of 0.05. Results: The utilization of Community-Based Health Insurance (CBHI) was 49.8%. Age between 30 and 39 years, monthly earnings of less than 1500 Ethiopian Birr, presence of chronic illness, membership in social organization, and possessing adequate knowledge were found to have a statistically significant association with the use of CBHI. Conclusion: The utilization of CBHI was low within the confines of this district Age, income, social group membership, and chronic illnesses were significantly associated with CBHI utilization.

The interaction of healthcare service quality and community-based health insurance in Ethiopia.

Community-based health insurance (CBHI) as a demand-side intervention is presumed to drive improvements in health services quality, and the quality of health services is an important supple-side factor in motivating CBHI enrollment and retention. There is, however, limited evidence on this interaction. This study examined the interaction between quality of health services and CBHI enrollment and renewal. A mixed-method comparative study was conducted in four agrarian regions of Ethiopia. The study followed the Donabedian model to compare quality of health services in health centers located in woredas/districts that implemented CBHI with those that did not. Data was collected through facility assessments, client-exit interviews, and key informant interviews. In addition to manual thematic analysis of qualitative data, quantitative descriptive and inferential analyses were done using SPSS vs 25. The process related (composite index including provider-client interpersonal communication) and outcome related (client satisfaction) measures of service quality in CBHI woreda/districts differed significantly from non-CBHI woredas/districts, but there were no significant differences in overall measures of structural quality between the two. The study found better diagnostic test capacity, availability of tracer drugs, provider interpersonal communication, and service quality standards in CBHI woredas. A higher proportion of clients at CBHI health centers gave high ratings of overall satisfaction with services. Individual and household factors including family size, age, household health care-related expenditures, and educational status, played a more significant role in CBHI enrollment and renewal decisions than health service quality. Key-informants reported in interviews that participation in the scheme increased accountability of health facilities in CBHI woredas/districts, because they promised to provide quality services using the CBHI premium collected at the beginning of the year from all enrolled households. This study indicates a need for follow-up research to understand the nuanced linkages between quality of care and CBHI enrollment.

Dropping out of voluntary community-based health insurance in rural Uganda: Evidence from a cross-sectional study in rural south-western Uganda.

AIM: Community Based Health Insurance (CBHI) schemes have become central to health systems financing as avenues of achieving universal health coverage in developing countries. Yet, while emphasis in research and policy has mainly concentrated on enrolment, very little has been apportioned to high rates of dropping out after initial enrolment. The main aim of this study is to understand the factors behind CBHI dropping out through a cross-sectional quantitative research design to gain insights into curtailing the drop out of CBHI in Uganda. METHODS: The survey for the quantitative research component took place between August 2015 and March 2016 covering 464 households with under-5 children in south-western Uganda. To understand the factors associated with dropping out of CBHI, we employ a multivariate logistic regression on a subsample of 251 households who were either currently enrolled or had enrolled at one time and later dropped out. RESULTS: Overall, we find that 25.1 percent of the households that had ever enrolled in insurance reported dropping out. Household socioeconomic status (wealth) was one of the key factors that associated with dropping out. Larger household sizes and distance from the hospital were significantly associated with dropping out. More socially connected households were less likely to drop out revealing the influence of community social capital in keeping households insured. CONCLUSION: The findings have implications for addressing equity and inclusion concerns in community-based health insurance programmes such as one in south-western Uganda. Even when community based informal system aim for inclusion of the poorest, they are not enough and often the poorest of the poor slip into the cracks and remain uninsured or drop out. Moreover, policy interventions toward curtailing high dropout rates should be considered to ensure financial sustainability of CBHI schemes.

Factors associated with enrollment for community-based health insurance scheme in Western Ethiopia: Case-control study.

INTRODUCTION: Modern health services utilization in developing countries has continued low. Financial shortage to access health-care services might be averted by stirring from out-of-pocket payment for health care at the time of use. The government of Ethiopia; depend greatly on foreign aid (50%) and out-of-pocket payments (34%) to fund health services for its population. This study was aimed to identify factors associated with households' enrollment to CBHI scheme membership. METHODS: Case-control study design was conducted from May 18-July 27, 2019 among 332 participants (166 enrolled and 166 non-enrolled to CBHI scheme). Simple random sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression model were fitted to identify factors associated with enrollment to community based health insurance. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% CI was used to report association and significance was declared at P<0.05. RESULT: A total of 332 (100% response rate) were involved in the study. Educational status (College and above, AOR = 3.90, 95%CI; 1.19, 12.75), good awareness about CBHI scheme (AOR = 21.595, 95% CI; 7.561, 61.681), affordability of premium payment (AOR = 3.403, 95% CI; 5.638-4.152), wealth index {(Poor, AOR = 2.59, 95%CI; 1.08, 6.20), (Middle, AOR = 4.13, 95%CI; 1.11, 15.32)} perceived health status (AOR = 5.536; 95% CI; 1.403-21.845), perceived quality of care (AOR: 21.014 95%CI; 4.178, 105.686) and treatment choice (AOR = 2.94, 95%CI; 1.47, 5.87) were factors significantly associated with enrollment to CBHI. CONCLUSION: Enrolment to CBHI schemes is influenced by educational level, awareness level, affordability of premium, wealth index, perceived health status, perceived quality of care and treatment choice. Implementation strategies aimed at raising community awareness, setting affordable premium, and providing quality healthcare would help in increasing enrollment of all eligible community groups to the CBHI scheme.

Are Ethiopian diabetic patients protected from financial hardship?

BACKGROUND: Globally, diabetes mellitus exerts an economic burden on patients and their families. However, the economic burden of diabetes mellitus and its associated factors were not well studied in Ethiopia. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the economic burden of diabetes mellitus and its associated factors among diabetic patients in public hospitals of Bahir Dar city administration, Ethiopia. METHODS: Across sectional study was conducted on 422 diabetic patients. The patients were selected by simple random sampling method. The prevalence-based model was used to estimate the costs on patients' perspective. Bottom up and human capital approaches were used to estimate the direct and indirect costs of the patients respectively. Wealth index was constructed using principal component analysis by SPSS. Forty percent of nonfood threshold level was used to measure catastrophic diabetic care expenditure of diabetic patients. Whereas, the World Bank poverty line (the $1.90-a-day poverty line) was used to measure impoverishment of patients due to expenses of diabetes mellitus care. Data were entered by Epi data version 3.1and exported to SPSS version 23 for analysis. Simple and multiple logistic regressions were used. RESULTS: Four hundred one respondents were interviewed with response rate of 95%. We found that 239 (59.6%) diabetic patients incurred catastrophic diabetic care expenditure at 40% nonfood threshold level. Whereas, 20 (5%) diabetic patients were impoverished by diabetic care spending at the $1.90-a-day poverty line. Educational status of respondent, educational status of the head of household, occupation and wealth status were statistically associated with the catastrophic diabetic care expenditure. CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed that the economic burden of diabetic care is very disastrous among the less privileged populations: the less educated, the poorest and unemployed. Therefore, all concerned stakeholders should design ways that can reduce the financial hardship of diabetic care among diabetic patients.

Factors affecting enrollment status of households for community based health insurance in a resource-limited peripheral area in Southern Ethiopia. Mixed method.

BACKGROUND: Despite the efforts made by the government of Ethiopia, the community-based health insurance (CBHI) enrollment rate failed to reach the potential beneficiaries. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the enrollment status of households for community-based health insurance and associated factors in peripheral areas of Southern Ethiopia. METHODS: We conducted a community based cross-sectional study design with both quantitative and qualitative methods. Systematic random sampling was employed to select 820 households from 27, April to 12 June 2018. A pretested structured questionnaire, in-depth interview, and focus group discussion guiding tool were used to obtain information. A binary logistic regression model was used to assess the association between independent and outcome variables. A P-Value of less than 0.05 was taken as a cutoff to declare association in multivariable analysis. Qualitative data were analyzed manually using the thematic analysis method. RESULTS: Out of 820 households, 273[33.30%; 95% CI: 29.9-36.20] were enrolled in the community based health insurance scheme. Having good knowledge [AOR = 13.97, 95%CI: 8.64, 22.60], having family size of greater than five [AOR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.15, 3.06], presence of frequently ill individual [AOR = 3.90, 95% CI: 2.03, 7.51] and presence of chronic illness [AOR = 3.64, 95% CI: 1.67, 7.79] were positively associated with CBHI enrollment. In addition, poor quality of care, lack of managerial commitment, lack of trust and transparency, unavailability of basic logistics and supplies were also barriers for CBHI enrollment. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: The study found that lower community based health insurance enrollment status. A higher probability of CBHI enrollment among higher health care demanding population groups was observed. Poor perceived quality of health care, poor managerial support and lack of trust were found to be barriers for non-enrollment. Therefore, wide-range awareness creation strategies should be used to address adverse selection and poor knowledge. In addition, trust should be built among communities through transparent management. Furthermore, the quality of care being given in public health facilities should be improved to encourage the community to be enrolled in CBHI.

Universal health insurance in Rwanda: major challenges and solutions for financial sustainability case study of Rwanda community-based health insurance part I.

INTRODUCTION: Universal Health Coverage (UHC) has engaged attention of policy makers at both global and country levels. UHC is one of three strategic priorities of World Health Organization's (WHO) general program of work for 2019-2023, and it is then a global health priority. Rwanda Community-Based Health Insurance is considered the vehicle for UHC and Universal Health Insurance in Rwanda. CBHI was officially introduced in 1999/2000 and through 2011/2012 Rwanda was not far from effective UHC. However, since then, CBHI faced chronic financial deficit. This study aims to assess challenges facing Community-Based Health Insurance financial sustainability and to propose indicative solutions. METHODS: quantitative, qualitative, analytical, longitudinal (2011-2018) and documentary mixed methods were applied. One National Pooling Risk (100%), 15 Community-Based Health Insurance districts (50%) and 60 Community Based Health Insurance sections (13.33%) were randomly selected and included in the study. To assess major challenges, "analyzing qualitative data G3658-6 approach" and "prioritization hanlon method" were used. RESULTS: the study highlighted five major challenges: (i) disproportionate risk-equalization in the social health insurance contributory system; (ii) unit cost exceeding individual income (premium plus other revenues and subsidies); (iii) imperfection in funding mobilization and recovery; (iv) cost-escalation; (v) diseconomy of scale; and the study proposed indicative solutions including injection of additional funding and shifting from current fee-for-service payment to fully active strategic purchasing mechanisms as accompanying measures. CONCLUSION: CBHI financial sustainability is achievable, but this is contingent upon persistence of political commitment efforts to achieve UHC, correction of highlighted imperfections and injection of additional funding to allow Rwanda Community-Based Health Insurance to meet and/or exceed its cost in the long-term.

Willingness of community based health insurance uptake and associated factors among urban residents of Oromia regional state, Oromia, Ethiopia, a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Globally, Millions of people cannot use health services because of the fear of payment for the service at the time of service delivery. From the agenda of transformation and the current situation of urbanization as well as to ensure universal health coverage implementing this program to the urban resident is mandatory. The aim of this study is to assess the willingness of community-based health insurance (CBHI) uptake and associated factors among urban residents of Oromia regional state, Oromia, Ethiopia, 2018. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted. From the total of eighteen towns; six towns which account for 33% of the total were selected randomly for the study. One population proportion formula was employed to get a total of 845 households. A pre-tested, semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the required data. Double-Bounded Dichotomous Choice Variant of the contingent valuation method was used to assess the maximum willingness to pay for the scheme, and a multiple logistic regression model was used to determine the effect of various factors on the willingness to join and willingness to pay for the households. RESULT: About 839 (99.3%) of the respondents participated. The mean ages of the respondents were 40.44(SD ± 11.12) years. 621 (74.1%) ever heard about CBHI with 473 (56.3%) knowing the benefits package. Out of 839, 724 (86.3%) were willing to uptake CBHI of which 704 (83.9%) were willing to pay if CBHI established in their town. CONCLUSION: If CBHI established about 86.3% of the households would enroll in the scheme. Having education, with a family size between 3 & 6, having difficulty in paying for health care and less than 20mins it took to reach the nearest health facility were the independent predictors of the willingness of CBHI uptake. The Oromia and Towns Health Bureau should consider the availability of health facilities near to the community and establishing CBHI in the urban towns.

Determinants of enrollment in community based health insurance among Households in Tach-Armachiho Woreda, North Gondar, Ethiopia, 2019.

BACKGROUND: Recently in Ethiopia, there is an increasing movement to implement community based health insurance scheme as integral part of health care financing and remarkable movements has resulted in the spread of the scheme in different parts of the country. Despite such increasing effort, recent empirical evidence shows enrolment has remained low. To identify determinants of enrollment in community based health insurance among households in Tach-Armachiho Woreda, North Gondar, Ethiopia, 2019. METHODS: A community based unmatched case control study was conducted Tach-Armachiho Woreda from March to May 2019 among 262 participants (88 cases and 174 controls with case control ratio of 1:2). Study subjects were selected using multi-stage sampling technique. Data were collected using a pretested, structured interviewer administered questioner. Data were entered to Epi-info 7 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression model were used to see the determinants of enrollment in community based health insurance. Adjusted odds ratio with 95% CI at p-value <0.05 in multivariable logistics regression analysis factors were identified as statistically significantly associated. RESULT: Female headed households (AOR = 2.79, 95% CI = 1.16, 6.69), Increase in Age (AOR = 1.09, 95% CI = 1.05, 1.13) and negative perception towards community based health insurance (AOR = 0.062, 95% CI = .030, .128) were found to be significant predictors. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence that the decision to enroll in the scheme is shaped by age and a combination of household head sex and perception towards community based health insurance. Implementers aimed at enhancing enrolment ought to act on the bases of this findings.

[Mutual health insurance in Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: factors favouring the utilization of health services by adherents]. / Mutuelles de santé à Bukavu en République Démocratique du Congo: facteurs favorables à l'utilisation des services de santé par des adhérents.

INTRODUCTION: This study highlights the determinants of the use of health services by adherents to the three mutual health insurances in the town of Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. METHODS: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study, based on a perception survey among users of healthcare services affiliated to the mutual health insurances in the Bukavu health zones. The encoding and statistical analysis were carried out using the Epi INFO version 2010 software. RESULTS: The main determinants of the use of healthcare services by adherents to the mutual health insurances are: the member's place of residence, the level of education of the head of household, the previous experience of care in the healthcare structure partner of the mutual health insurances, the reputation of the structure partner of the mutual health insurances and the ability of households to pay the user fee. CONCLUSION: This study highlights that, beyond the financial barrier, the implementation of a mutual health organisation should promote a better regulation of the user fee and a good quality of care to meet the care needs of members. The factors emerging from the study as a major determinant of the use of health services by adherents to a mutual health insurance are often not taken into account in the implementation of mutual health insurance in contexts similar to those of Bukavu.

Determinants of enrollment decision in the community-based health insurance, North West Ethiopia: a case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the determinants for enrollment decision in the community-based health insurance program among informal economic sector-engaged societies, North West Ethiopia. METHOD: Unmatched case-control study was conducted on 148 cases (member-to-insurance) and 148 controls (not-member-to-insurance program) from September 1 to October 30,2016. To select the villages and households, stratified then simple random sampling method was employed respectively. The data were entered in to Epi-info version 7 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Descriptive statistics, bi-variable, and multi-variable logistic regression analyses were computed to describe the study objectives and identify the determinants of enrolment decision for the insurance program. Odds ratio at 95% CI was used to describe the association between the independent and outcome variables. RESULTS: A total of 296 respondents (148 cases and 148 controls) were employed. The mean age for both cases and controls were 42 ± 11.73 and 40 ± 11.37 years respectively. Majority of respondents were males (87.2% for cases and 79% for controls). Family size between 4 and 6 (AOR = 2.26; 95% CI: 1.04, 4.89), history of illness by household (AOR = 3.24; 95% CI: 1.68, 6.24), perceived amount of membership contribution was medium (AOR = 2.3; 95% CI: 1.23, 4.26), being married (AOR = 6; 95% CI:1.43, 10.18) and trust on program (AOR = 4.79; 95% CI: 2.40, 9.55) were independent determinants for increased enrollment decision in the community-based health insurance. While, being merchant (AOR = 0.07; 95% CI: 0.09, 0.6) decreased the enrollment decision. CONCLUSION: Societies' enrollment decision to community-based health insurance program was determined by demographic, social, economic and political factors. Households with large family sizes and farmers in the informal sector should be given maximal attention for intensifying enrollment decision in the insurance program.

The effect of a community-based health insurance on the out-of-pocket payments for utilizing medically trained providers in Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to estimate the effect of the community-based health insurance (CBHI) scheme on the magnitude of out-of-pocket (OOP) payments for the healthcare of the informal workers and their dependents. The CBHI scheme was piloted through a cooperative of informal workers, which covered seven unions in Chandpur Sadar Upazila, Bangladesh. METHODS: A quasi-experimental study was conducted using a case-comparison design. In total 1292 (646 insured and 646 uninsured) households were surveyed. Propensity score matching was done to minimize the observed baseline differences in the characteristics between the insured and uninsured groups. A two-part regression model was applied using both the probability of OOP spending and magnitude of such spending for healthcare in assessing the association with enrolment status in the CBHI scheme while controlling for other covariates. RESULTS: The OOP payment was 6.4% (p < 0.001) lower for medically trained provider (MTP) utilization among the insured compared with the uninsured. However, no significant difference was found in the OOP payments for healthcare utilization from all kind of providers, including the non-trained ones. CONCLUSIONS: The CBHI scheme could reduce OOP payments while providing better quality healthcare through the increased use of MTPs, which consequently could push the country towards universal health coverage.

Impact of voluntary community-based health insurance on child stunting: Evidence from rural Uganda.

While community-based health insurance increasingly becomes part of the health financing landscape in developing countries, there is still limited research about its impacts on health outcomes. Using cross-sectional data from rural south-western Uganda, we apply a two-stage residual inclusion instrumental variables method to study the impact of insurance participation on child stunting in under-five children. We find that one year of a household's participation in community-based health insurance was associated with a 4.3 percentage point less probability of stunting. Children of two years or less dominated the effect but there were also statistically significant benefits of enrolling in insurance after a child's birth. The expansion of community-based health insurance might have more dividends to improving health, in addition to financial protection and service utilisation in rural developing countries.

Understanding the limitations of "quasi-mandatory" approaches to enrolment in community-based health insurance: Empirical evidence from Tanzania.

In recent decades, a growing number of low-income countries (LICs) have experimented with voluntary community-based health insurance (CBHI), as an instrument to extend social health protection to the rural poor and the informal sector. While modest successes have been achieved, important challenges remain with regard to the recruitment and retention of members, and the regular collection of membership fees. In this context, there is a growing consensus among policymakers that there is a need to experiment with mandatory approaches towards CBHI. In some localities in Tanzania, local actors in charge of community health funds (CHFs) are now relying on what is best described as quasi-mandatory enrolment strategies, such as increasing user fees for non-members, automatically enrolling beneficiaries of cash transfer programmes and enrolling the exempted groups (people who are entitled to free healthcare). We find that, while these quasi-mandatory enrolment strategies may temporarily increase enrolment rates, dropout and the non-payment of contributions remain important problems. These problems are at least partly related to supply side issues, notably to inadequate benefit packages. Overall, these findings indicate the limitations of any strategy to increase enrolment into CBHI, which is not coupled to clear improvements in the supply and quality of healthcare.

Costs of Care and Location of Death in Community-Based Pediatric Palliative Care.

Background: Children with complex chronic conditions (CCCs) are dying at home with increased frequency, yet the number of studies on the financial feasibility of community-based pediatric palliative care is limited. Objective: The objectives of this study were to (1) describe characteristics of patients who died in a community-based palliative care program and (2) evaluate cost differences associated with participant characteristics and location of death. Design: A retrospective cohort analysis of administrative and electronic medical record data was employed. Setting/Subjects: Children enrolled in the community-based pediatric palliative care program, CompassionNet, who died between 2008 and 2015 were included (N = 224). Measurements: Demographic data, program expense, and paid claims were extracted from an insurance provider database and clinical data from the electronic medical record. Results: Sixty-six (29%) of the children were <1 year old at death; 80 (36%) were 1-9 years old, and 78 (35%) were 10-22 years old. Malignancy was the most common primary CCC diagnosis for the 158 children/adolescents (n = 89, 56%), whereas neuromuscular conditions (n = 20, 30%) were most frequent for infants. Death at home occurred 21% of the time for infants, 48% for children of ages 1-9 years, and 46% for children of ages 10-22 years. The mean total cost in the final year of life for pediatric patients was significantly related to location of death, a malignancy diagnosis, and participation in Medicaid. The largest estimated difference was between costs of care associated with death at home ($121,111) versus death in the hospital ($200,050). Conclusions: Multidisciplinary community-based pediatric palliative care teams provide the opportunity for a home death to be realized as desired. Significant cost differences associated with location of death may support program replication and sustainability.

Factors affecting the willingness to join community-based health insurance (CBHI) scheme: A case study survey from Savannakhet Province, Lao P.D.R.

PURPOSE: Community-based health insurance (CBHI) targets independent worker (self-employed) is currently struggling with inadequate size of risk pooling, low enrollment, and high dropout rate as well as financial sustainability. The objective of this study is to find out the factors that significantly affect the CBHI enrollment incentive. The study applied cross-sectional study design to perform situation analysis, in which the Andersen behavioral model was used as a guideline to identify preliminary characteristics that involved with enrolling incentive. FINDINGS: The model found that existence of both outpatient department (OPD) and inpatient department (IPD) health service utilization had significant impact on the CBHI enrollment, this statement is strongly related to adverse selection issues. Households resides in Kaysone Phomvihane district had higher probability of joining the scheme in comparison with relatively less-developed Champhone district. Households with no CBHI knowledge were also more likely to enroll the scheme. Occupation was also found to be a significant factors; of which farmers and laborers had lower possibility enrollment. CONCLUSIONS: Economic condition of the district has a significant impact on enrolment. However, the increase in personal income does not directly enhance the desire for enrolment. Most of the high-income households prefer to use a local, private clinic, and foreign hospitals in Thailand or Vietnam. Households with unemployed heads had the highest possibility of enrolling. The reason is the unemployed respondents include the elderly who stay at home without performing major tasks in exchange for their living. That group of people has the highest probability of either OPD or IPD.

The impact of Ethiopia's pilot community based health insurance scheme on healthcare utilization and cost of care.

In June 2011, the Government of Ethiopia introduced a pilot Community Based Health Insurance (CBHI) scheme in rural parts of the country. Based on a fixed effects analysis of household panel data, this paper assesses the impact of the scheme on utilization of modern healthcare and the cost of accessing healthcare. It adds to the relatively small body of work that provides a rigorous evaluation of CBHI schemes. We find that in the case of public health facilities, enrolment leads to a 30-41% increase in utilization of outpatient care, a 45-64% increase in the frequency of visits and at least a 56% decline in the cost per visit. The impact on utilization and costs combined with a high uptake rate of almost 50% within two years of scheme establishment underlines the relative success of the Ethiopian scheme. While there are several reasons for this success, a comparative analysis of the design and execution of the Ethiopia CBHI with the existing body of work yields two distinct features. First, the Ethiopian scheme is embedded within existing government administrative structures and to signal government commitment, scheme performance and uptake is used as a yardstick to measure the success of the administration. Second, an existing social protection scheme was used to spread information, raise scheme awareness and encourage uptake of health insurance. The alignment of the interests of administrators with scheme performance and interlinking of social protection schemes are innovative design features that are worth considering as developing countries strive to enhance access to health care through voluntary insurance schemes.