IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/hlthec/v21y2012i8p946-966.html

The Impact Of Voluntary Health Insurance On Health Care Utilization And Out‐Of‐Pocket Payments: New Evidence For Vietnam

Author

Listed:
  • Cuong Viet Nguyen

Abstract

Vietnam aims to achieve full coverage of health insurance in 2015. An increasing type of health insurance in Vietnam is voluntary health insurance. Although there are many studies on the implementation of voluntary health insurance in Vietnam, little is known on the causal impact of voluntary health insurance. This paper measures the impact of voluntary health insurance on health care utilization and out‐of‐pocket payments using Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys in 2004 and 2006. It was found out that voluntary health insurance helps the insured people increase the annual outpatient and inpatient visits by around 45% and 70%, respectively. However, the effect of voluntary health insurance on out‐of‐pocket expenses on health care services is not statistically significant. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Cuong Viet Nguyen, 2012. "The Impact Of Voluntary Health Insurance On Health Care Utilization And Out‐Of‐Pocket Payments: New Evidence For Vietnam," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(8), pages 946-966, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:21:y:2012:i:8:p:946-966
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.1768
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.1768
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/hec.1768?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ron, Aviva, 1999. "NGOs in community health insurance schemes: examples from Guatemala and the Philippines," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 48(7), pages 939-950, April.
    2. Johar, Meliyanni, 2009. "The impact of the Indonesian health card program: A matching estimator approach," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 35-53, January.
    3. Ardeshir Sepehri & Sisira Sarma & Wayne Simpson, 2006. "Does non‐profit health insurance reduce financial burden? Evidence from the Vietnam living standards survey panel," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(6), pages 603-616, June.
    4. Heckman, James J. & Lalonde, Robert J. & Smith, Jeffrey A., 1999. "The economics and econometrics of active labor market programs," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 31, pages 1865-2097, Elsevier.
    5. Sapelli, Claudio & Vial, Bernardita, 2003. "Self-selection and moral hazard in Chilean health insurance," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 459-476, May.
    6. Alberto Abadie & Guido W. Imbens, 2008. "On the Failure of the Bootstrap for Matching Estimators," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 76(6), pages 1537-1557, November.
    7. Jowett, M. & Contoyannis, P. & Vinh, N. D., 2003. "The impact of public voluntary health insurance on private health expenditures in Vietnam," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 333-342, January.
    8. Wagstaff, Adam, 2005. "The economic consequences of health shocks," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3644, The World Bank.
    9. Colm Harmon & Brian Nolan, 2001. "Health insurance and health services utilization in Ireland," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 10(2), pages 135-145, March.
    10. Ekman, Bjorn, 2007. "Catastrophic health payments and health insurance: Some counterintuitive evidence from one low-income country," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(2-3), pages 304-313, October.
    11. Carrin, Guy & Ron, Aviva & Hui, Yang & Hong, Wang & Tuohong, Zhang & Licheng, Zhang & Shuo, Zhang & Yide, Ye & Jiaying, Chen & Qicheng, Jiang & Zhaoyang, Zhang & Jun, Yu & Xuesheng, Li, 1999. "The reform of the rural cooperative medical system in the People's Republic of China: interim experience in 14 pilot counties," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 48(7), pages 961-972, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nguyen Viet, Cuong, 2014. "Impact Evaluation of Development Programmes and Policies: Experiences from Viet Nam," MPRA Paper 60919, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Lan Thi Thu Phan & Yusuke Jinnai, 2018. "Does health insurance matter in the hospital? New evidence from patient-level medical records in Vietnam," Working Papers EMS_2018_01, Research Institute, International University of Japan.
    3. Darius Erlangga & Shehzad Ali & Karen Bloor, 2019. "The impact of public health insurance on healthcare utilisation in Indonesia: evidence from panel data," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 64(4), pages 603-613, May.
    4. Dang, Thang, 2017. "The Multiple Effects of Child Health Insurance in Vietnam," MPRA Paper 78614, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Patrick Opoku Asuming & Hyuncheol Bryant Kim & Armand Sim, 2024. "Selection and behavioral responses of health insurance subsidies in the long run: Evidence from a field experiment in Ghana," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(5), pages 992-1032, May.
    6. Nguyen, Ha & Connelly, Luke B., 2017. "Cost-sharing in health insurance and its impact in a developing country– Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment," MPRA Paper 76399, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Long Thanh Giang & Tham Hong Thi Pham & Phong Manh Phi & Nam Truong Nguyen, 2023. "Healthcare Services Utilisation and Financial Burden among Vietnamese Older People and Their Households," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(12), pages 1-13, June.
    8. Palmer, Michael G., 2014. "Inequalities in Universal Health Coverage: Evidence from Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 384-394.
    9. Ali, Shehzad & Cookson, Richard & Dusheiko, Mark, 2017. "Addressing care-seeking as well as insurance-seeking selection biases in estimating the impact of health insurance on out-of-pocket expenditure," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 127-140.
    10. Linh D. Nguyen & Thanh T. Nguyen & Tung T. Nguyen & Ulrike Grote, 2025. "Health shock and indebtedness: Does having access to health insurance reduce the reliance on borrowing as a shock coping strategy?," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 47(2), pages 823-862, May.
    11. Do, Trang T. & Whittaker, Andrea & Davis, Mark DM., 2024. "Financial struggles and coping with the aftermath of breast cancer care: An ethnographic study in Vietnam," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 360(C).
    12. Le, Nga & Groot, Wim & Tomini, Sonila & Tomini, Florian, 2018. "Health insurance and patient satisfaction: Evidence from the poorest regions of Vietnam," MERIT Working Papers 2018-040, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    13. Thang Dang, 2018. "Do the more educated utilize more health care services? Evidence from Vietnam using a regression discontinuity design," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 277-299, September.
    14. Budi Aji & Manuela De Allegri & Aurelia Souares & Rainer Sauerborn, 2013. "The Impact of Health Insurance Programs on Out-of-Pocket Expenditures in Indonesia: An Increase or a Decrease?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-19, July.
    15. Do, Thu Trang & Le, Hai Chau & Nguyen, Viet Cuong & Nguyen, Hong Thuy & Phung, Thanh Thu & Phung, Duc Tung, 2013. "Impact Assessment of Poverty Reduction Programs of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam," MPRA Paper 52876, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Quan-Hoang Vuong & Tung-Manh Ho & Hong-Kong Nguyen & Thu-Trang Vuong, 2018. "Healthcare consumers’ sensitivity to costs: a reflection on behavioural economics from an emerging market," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 1-10, December.
    17. Le, Nga T.Q. & Groot, Wim & Tomini, Sonila & Tomini, Florian, 2017. "Effects of health insurance on labour supply: Evidence from the health care fund for the poor in Viet Nam," MERIT Working Papers 2017-050, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    18. Nguyen Viet Cuong, 2015. "Impact Evaluation of Development Programmes and Policies: Experiences from Viet Nam," Working Papers 2015-620, Department of Research, Ipag Business School.
    19. Palmer, Michael & Mitra, Sophie & Mont, Daniel & Groce, Nora, 2015. "The impact of health insurance for children under age 6 in Vietnam: A regression discontinuity approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 217-226.

    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. Nguyen Viet Cuong, 2014. "Impact Evaluation of Health Insurance for Children: Evidence from a Developing Country," Working Papers 2014-180, Department of Research, Ipag Business School.
    2. Nguyen Viet, Cuong, 2011. "The Impact of Health Insurance for Children: Evidence from Vietnam," MPRA Paper 36552, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Wagstaff, Adam & Lindelow, Magnus & Jun, Gao & Ling, Xu & Juncheng, Qian, 2009. "Extending health insurance to the rural population: An impact evaluation of China's new cooperative medical scheme," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 1-19, January.
    4. Astrid Kiil, 2012. "Does employment-based private health insurance increase the use of covered health care services? A matching estimator approach," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-38, March.
    5. Pablo Gottret & George J. Schieber & Hugh R. Waters, 2008. "Good Practices in Health Financing : Lessons from Reforms in Low and Middle-Income Countries," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6442, April.
    6. Ali, Shehzad & Cookson, Richard & Dusheiko, Mark, 2017. "Addressing care-seeking as well as insurance-seeking selection biases in estimating the impact of health insurance on out-of-pocket expenditure," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 127-140.
    7. Cuong Nguyen, 2016. "The impact of health insurance programs for children: evidence from Vietnam," Health Economics Review, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-15, December.
    8. Matthew Jowett, 2004. "Theoretical insights into the development of health insurance in low-income countries," Working Papers 188chedp, Centre for Health Economics, University of York.
    9. Liu, Dan & Tsegai, Daniel W., 2011. "The New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) and its implications for access to health care and medical expenditure: Evidence from rural China," Discussion Papers 116746, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    10. Wagstaff, Adam & Pradhan, Menno, 2005. "Health insurance impacts on health and nonmedical consumption in a developing country," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3563, The World Bank.
    11. Marc FERRACCI & Grégory JOLIVET & Gerard J van den Berg, 2009. "Treatment Evaluation in the Case of Interaction Within Markets," Working Papers 2009-22, Center for Research in Economics and Statistics.
    12. Heinrich, Carolyn J. & Mueser, Peter R. & Troske, Kenneth & Jeon, Kyung-Seong & Kahvecioglu, Daver C., 2009. "New Estimates of Public Employment and Training Program Net Impacts: A Nonexperimental Evaluation of the Workforce Investment Act Program," IZA Discussion Papers 4569, IZA Network @ LISER.
    13. Adam Wagstaff, 2010. "Estimating health insurance impacts under unobserved heterogeneity: the case of Vietnam's health care fund for the poor," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(2), pages 189-208, February.
    14. Ha Trong Nguyen & Luke B Connelly, 2017. "Cost-sharing in health insurance and its impact in a developing country: evidence from a quasi-natural experiment," Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre Working Paper series WP1702, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School.
    15. John C. Ham & Xianghong Li & Patricia B. Reagan, 2004. "Propensity Score Matching, a Distance-Based Measure of Migration, and the Wage Growth of Young Men," Working Papers 2004_3, York University, Department of Economics.
    16. Christian Volpe Martincus & Jerónimo Carballo, 2012. "Export promotion activities in developing countries: What kind of trade do they promote?," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(4), pages 539-578, June.
    17. Axel Demenet, 2016. "Can Insurance Mitigate Household Businesses’ Vulnerability to Health Shocks?," Working Papers DT/2016/10, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    18. Vo, Thang T. & Van, Pham Hoang, 2019. "Can health insurance reduce household vulnerability? Evidence from Viet Nam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 1-1.
    19. Christian Volpe Martincus, 2010. "Odyssey in International Markets: An Assessment of the Effectiveness of Export Promotion in Latin America and the Caribbean," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 16458, February.
    20. Nguyen Viet, Cuong, 2014. "Impact Evaluation of Development Programmes and Policies: Experiences from Viet Nam," MPRA Paper 60919, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    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:wly:hlthec:v:21:y:2012:i:8:p:946-966. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/5749 .

    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.