Health Affairs, 28, no. 6 (2009): 1788-1798 doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.28.6.1788 © 2009 by Project HOPE	New Online   Senate Health Reform Bill   Rewarding Providers   Public Option Policy Brief   Health Reform & Abortion   Delivery System Reform

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MarketWatch

MARKETWATCH

Microinsurance: Innovations In Low-Cost Health Insurance

Microinsurance—low-cost health insurance based on a community, cooperative, or mutual and self-help arrangements—can provide financial protection for poor households and improve access to health care. However, low benefit caps and a low share of premiums paid as benefits—both designed to keep these arrangements in business—perversely limited these schemes’ ability to extend coverage, offer financial protection, and retain members. We studied three schemes in India, two of which are member-operated and one a commercial scheme, using household surveys of insured and uninsured households and interviews with managers. All three enrolled poor households and raised their use of hospital services, as intended. Financial exposure was greatest, and protection was least, in the commercial scheme, which imposed the lowest caps on benefits and where income was the lowest.

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