The Impact of SEWA's Medical Insurance Fund on Hospital Utilization and Expenditure : A Household Survey
This paper assesses the impact of the Self-Employed Women's Association's (SEWA's) Medical Insurance Fund, Gujarat, in terms of inclusion of the poor, hospital utilization, and expenditure. Age-matched insured and uninsured women wer...
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2013
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2001/09/3584288/impact-sewas-medical-insurance-fund-hospital-utilization-expenditure-household-survey http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13788 |
| Summary: | This paper assesses the impact of the
Self-Employed Women's Association's (SEWA's)
Medical Insurance Fund, Gujarat, in terms of inclusion of
the poor, hospital utilization, and expenditure. Age-matched
insured and uninsured women were compared using survey data
(2000). The authors found that wealth was not a determinant
of membership in the Fund; i.e., the poor were not excluded.
Of 28 hospitalizations among Fund members over one year,
only five were reimbursed. Membership in SEWA was not
significantly associated with increased frequency of
hospitalization, but there was a significant association
with lower costs of hospitalization, net of reimbursement.
Unlike many other CBHI schemes, the Fund has overcome
barriers that exclude the poorest. This is due in part to
nesting of the Fund within a larger development
organization. Utilization of the Fund, and thus impact on
hospital utilization and expenditure, was minimal. This may
relate to a lack of awareness of benefits among Fund
members, or costs and difficulties associated with
submitting an insurance claim. |
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