 |
The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
|
The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Alan Fairbank and Mary A Paterson, PhD. Abt Associates Inc., Suite 600, 4800 Montgomery Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814, 203-777-5021, alan_fairbank@abtassoc.com
Community-based health insurance has been described by the Commission for Macroeconomics and Health, as a viable financing solution for the health needs of the poor. Communities often establish these plans themselves and the benefits provided vary widely across plans. Volunteers who donate their time to administer the community health insurance fund support some of the smaller plans. As these plans grow the cost of providing competent administration and the risk of decreasing community participation are important considerations. This paper describes a model that considers the interrelated importance of four critical factors in CBHI design: 1) out-of-pocket cost of services before health insurance 2) the percent of out-of-pocket coverage provided after health insurance 3) the percent of households covered by the community based health insurance plan and 4) the amount of administrative fee included in the premium. The model relates how these factors influence the decision of households to purchase community-based health insurance and the probability that the community based health insurance plan can be sustained over time. A range of standard parameters to use in the design of such plans are suggested on the basis of this model with references made to relevant community based health insurance field experiences. Policy implications based on the model are also discussed.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Insurance, Community Benefits
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.