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The impact of subsidized private health insurance and health facility upgrades on healthcare utilization and spending in rural Nigeria

Author

Listed:
  • Emily Gustafsson-Wright

    (Brookings Institution)

  • Gosia Popławska

    (University of Oxford)

  • Zlata Tanović

    (Vrije University (VU)
    Amsterdam Institute for International Development)

  • Jacques Gaag

    (Brookings Institution
    University of Amsterdam)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the quantitative impact of an intervention that provides subsidized low-cost private health insurance together with health facility upgrades in Nigeria. The evaluation, which measures impact on healthcare utilization and spending, is based on a quasi-experimental design and utilizes three population-based household surveys over a 4-year period. After 4 years, the intervention increased healthcare use by 25.2 percentage points in the treatment area overall and by 17.7 percentage points among the insured. Utilization of modern healthcare facilities increased after 4 years by 20.4 percentage points in the treatment area and by 18.4 percentage points among the insured due to the intervention. After 2 years of program implementation, the intervention reduced healthcare spending by 51% compared with baseline, while after 4 years, spending resumed to pre-intervention levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Emily Gustafsson-Wright & Gosia Popławska & Zlata Tanović & Jacques Gaag, 2018. "The impact of subsidized private health insurance and health facility upgrades on healthcare utilization and spending in rural Nigeria," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 221-276, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:ijhcfe:v:18:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s10754-017-9231-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10754-017-9231-y
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    Cited by:

    1. Richard Agbanyo & James Atta Peprah, 2021. "National health insurance and the choice of delivery facility among expectant mothers in Ghana," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 27-49, March.
    2. Emmanuel Nshakira-Rukundo & Essa Chanie Mussa & Nathan Nshakira & Nicolas Gerber & Joachim von Braun, 2021. "Impact of community-based health insurance on utilisation of preventive health services in rural Uganda: a propensity score matching approach," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 203-227, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Health insurance; Financial risk; Nigeria; Impact evaluation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty

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