IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ers/ijfirm/v13y2023i1p3-26.html

Is National Health Insurance Feasible for Saudi Healthcare Services? A Qualitative Study

Author

Listed:
  • Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh
  • Azimatun Noor Aizuddin
  • Abdulaziz Abdullah Al Salem

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this study is to assess qualitatively the benefits, barriers, and factors associated with implementation of National Health Insurance (NHI) system in KSA based on face-to-face interviews. Design/Methodology/Approach: Qualitative data was collected through 20 interviews conducted to determine the benefits, barriers, and factors associated with implementation of NHI system in the KSA. An Atlas.ti.8 version was selected for the qualitative data analysis. Findings: This study attempts to identify the benefits and barriers of implementation of NHI system. The final recommendation of this research is the implementation of the NHI ‘TAKAFUL’ type after the creation of high levels of awareness among citizens, establishment of an administrative control center, and the development of a strong healthcare infrastructure. Practical implications: The health care system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is financed almost entirely by oil revenues and is "free at the point of delivery” This system is experiencing increase strains because of the escalating expenditures and the growing volatility of the oil market. It is also unlikely to be viable in the medium to long term. Originality value: This is considered feasible option based on the nature of Saudi citizens and their level of satisfaction with existing public healthcare services.

Suggested Citation

  • Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh & Azimatun Noor Aizuddin & Abdulaziz Abdullah Al Salem, 2023. "Is National Health Insurance Feasible for Saudi Healthcare Services? A Qualitative Study," International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, vol. 13(1), pages 3-26.
    • Handle: RePEc:ers:ijfirm:v:13:y:2023:i:1:p:3-26
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journalfirm.com/journal/341/download
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stefan Bauernschuster & Anastasia Driva & Erik Hornung, 2020. "Bismarck’s Health Insurance and the Mortality Decline [Disease and Development: The Effect of Life Expectancy on Economic Growth]," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 18(5), pages 2561-2607.
    2. Darius Erlangga & Marc Suhrcke & Shehzad Ali & Karen Bloor, 2019. "The impact of public health insurance on health care utilisation, financial protection and health status in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(8), pages 1-20, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gregori Galofré-Vilà & Martin McKee & David Stuckler, 2022. "Quantifying the mortality impact of the 1935 old-age assistance," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 26(1), pages 62-77.
    2. Daniel Gallardo‐Albarrán, 2020. "Sanitary infrastructures and the decline of mortality in Germany, 1877–1913," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 73(3), pages 730-757, August.
    3. Hyungsuk Kim & Chunhoo Cheon, 2025. "Impact of health insurance coverage on Chuna Manual Therapy utilization: A cross-sectional analysis using data from the 2017 and 2020 Korean Medicine Utilization and Herbal Medicine Consumption Survey," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(5), pages 1-18, May.
    4. Kofinti, Raymond Elikplim & Koomson, Isaac & Paintsil, Jones Arkoh & Ameyaw, Edward Kwabena, 2022. "Reducing children's malnutrition by increasing mothers' health insurance coverage: A focus on stunting and underweight across 32 sub-Saharan African countries," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    5. Boris Kaiser & Andreas Kohler & Christian P. R. Schmid, 2025. "The causal effects of mandatory health insurance coverage expansion in Switzerland," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 193-215, June.
    6. Bukari, Chei & Broermann, Shanaz & Okai, Davidson, 2021. "Energy poverty and health expenditure: Evidence from Ghana," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    7. Jacob Novignon & Eric Arthur & Kwasi Gyabaa Tabiri & Yaw Boateng Atakorah & Justice Nonvignon, 2024. "Does health insurance mitigate the economic impact of negative health outcomes? Evidence from Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 26(2), pages 582-602, August.
    8. Beta Yulianita Gitaharie & Rus’an Nasrudin & Ayu Putu Arantza Bonita & Lovina Aisha Malika Putri & Muhammad Abdul Rohman & Dwini Handayani, 2022. "Is there an ex-ante moral hazard on Indonesia’s health insurance? An impact analysis on household waste management behavior," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(12), pages 1-21, December.
    9. Martin-Bassols, Nicolau & Biroli, Pietro & De Cao, Elisabetta & Anelli, Massimo & von Hinke, Stephanie & Mendolia, Silvia, 2026. "Tracing the Genetic Footprints of the UK National Health Service," IZA Discussion Papers 18395, IZA Network @ LISER.
    10. Miguel Angel Carpio & Lucero Gomez & Pablo Lavado, 2025. "The Impact of Social Health Insurance on Student Performance: Evidence From an RDD in Peru," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(7), pages 1309-1325, July.
    11. Daniel Gallardo-Albarrán, 2025. "Mitigating the impact of extreme temperatures: the role of public health interventions in Germany, 1888-1913," Working Papers 0290, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    12. Jacopo Gabani & Sumit Mazumdar & Marc Suhrcke, 2023. "The effect of health financing systems on health system outcomes: A cross‐country panel analysis," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(3), pages 574-619, March.
    13. Erik Hornung, 2021. "Industrialisierung im Deutschen Reich: Welche Rolle spielte die öffentliche Infrastruktur?," Wirtschaftsdienst, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 101(4), pages 258-262, April.
    14. Bhalotra, Sonia R. & Rocha, Rudi & Soares, Rodrigo R., 2019. "Does Universalization of Health Work? Evidence from Health Systems Restructuring and Expansion in Brazil," IZA Discussion Papers 12111, IZA Network @ LISER.
    15. Valente, Christine & Sievertsen, Hans Henrik & Puri, Mahesh C., 2020. "Saving Neonatal Lives for a Quarter," IZA Discussion Papers 13719, IZA Network @ LISER.
    16. Regan Deonanan & Benjamin Ramkissoon, 2024. "How Do Remittances Affect Child Mortality at Different Levels of Mortality? Estimating Unconditional Quantile Treatment Effects on Three Leading Causes of Child Mortality," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(2), pages 21582440241, June.
    17. Elisabeth Bublitz & Michael Wyrwich, 2024. "Labor market changes and social inclusiveness across regions: evidence from the rise of the modern office," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 72(3), pages 863-879, March.
    18. Vishalie Shah & Andrew M. Jones & Ivana Malenica & Taufik Hidayat & Noemi Kreif, 2025. "Using Policy Learning to Inform Health Insurance Targeting: A Case Study of Indonesia," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(12), pages 2270-2296, December.
    19. Halla, Martin & Kah, Christopher & Sausgruber, Rupert, 2021. "Testing for Ethnic Discrimination in Outpatient Health Care: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Germany," Department of Economics Working Paper Series 319, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    20. Davide Cantoni & Noam Yuchtman, 2020. "Historical Natural Experiments: Bridging Economics and Economic History," NBER Working Papers 26754, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ers:ijfirm:v:13:y:2023:i:1:p:3-26. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Marios Agiomavritis (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journalfirm.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.