Willingness to Pay for Complementary Health Care Insurance in Iran

Background: Complementary health insurance is increasingly used to remedy the limitations and shortcomings of the basic health insurance benefit packages. Hence, it is essential to gather reliable information about the amount of Willingness to Pay (WTP) for health insurance. We assessed the WTP for...

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Main Authors: Shirin NOSRATNEJAD, Arash RASHIDIAN, Ali AKBARI SARI, Najme MORADI
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2017-09-01
Series:Iranian Journal of Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/view/10998
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author Shirin NOSRATNEJAD
Arash RASHIDIAN
Ali AKBARI SARI
Najme MORADI
author_facet Shirin NOSRATNEJAD
Arash RASHIDIAN
Ali AKBARI SARI
Najme MORADI
author_sort Shirin NOSRATNEJAD
collection DOAJ
description Background: Complementary health insurance is increasingly used to remedy the limitations and shortcomings of the basic health insurance benefit packages. Hence, it is essential to gather reliable information about the amount of Willingness to Pay (WTP) for health insurance. We assessed the WTP for health insurance in Iran in order to suggest an affordable complementary health insurance. Methods: The study sample consisted of 300 household heads all over provinces of Iran in 2013. The method applied was double bounded dichotomous choice and open-ended question approach of contingent valuation. Results: The average WTP for complementary health insurance per person per month by double bounded dichotomous choice and open-ended question method respectively was 199000 and 115300 Rials (8 and 4.6 USD, respectively). Household’s heads with higher levels of income and those who worked had more WTP for the health insurance. Besides, the WTP increased in direct proportion to the number of insured members of each household and in inverse proportion to the family size. Conclusion: The WTP value can be used as a premium in a society. As an important finding, the study indicated that the households were willing to pay higher premiums than currently collected for the complementary health insurance coverage in Iran. This offers the policy makers the opportunity to increase the premium and provide good benefits package for insured people of country then better risk pooling.
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spelling doaj.art-318da409013748729c2e3885ee61c89e2022-12-21T20:14:46ZengTehran University of Medical SciencesIranian Journal of Public Health2251-60852251-60932017-09-01469Willingness to Pay for Complementary Health Care Insurance in IranShirin NOSRATNEJAD0Arash RASHIDIAN1Ali AKBARI SARI2Najme MORADI3Tabriz Health Services Management Research Center, Dept. of Health Services Management, School of Management and Medical Informatics, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran AND Iranian Center of Excellence in Health Services Management, School of Management and Medical Informatics, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IranDept. of Health Management and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranDept. of Health Management and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranFood and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, IranBackground: Complementary health insurance is increasingly used to remedy the limitations and shortcomings of the basic health insurance benefit packages. Hence, it is essential to gather reliable information about the amount of Willingness to Pay (WTP) for health insurance. We assessed the WTP for health insurance in Iran in order to suggest an affordable complementary health insurance. Methods: The study sample consisted of 300 household heads all over provinces of Iran in 2013. The method applied was double bounded dichotomous choice and open-ended question approach of contingent valuation. Results: The average WTP for complementary health insurance per person per month by double bounded dichotomous choice and open-ended question method respectively was 199000 and 115300 Rials (8 and 4.6 USD, respectively). Household’s heads with higher levels of income and those who worked had more WTP for the health insurance. Besides, the WTP increased in direct proportion to the number of insured members of each household and in inverse proportion to the family size. Conclusion: The WTP value can be used as a premium in a society. As an important finding, the study indicated that the households were willing to pay higher premiums than currently collected for the complementary health insurance coverage in Iran. This offers the policy makers the opportunity to increase the premium and provide good benefits package for insured people of country then better risk pooling.https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/view/10998Willingness to payHealth insuranceContingent valuation methodIran
spellingShingle Shirin NOSRATNEJAD
Arash RASHIDIAN
Ali AKBARI SARI
Najme MORADI
Willingness to Pay for Complementary Health Care Insurance in Iran
Iranian Journal of Public Health
Willingness to pay
Health insurance
Contingent valuation method
Iran
title Willingness to Pay for Complementary Health Care Insurance in Iran
title_full Willingness to Pay for Complementary Health Care Insurance in Iran
title_fullStr Willingness to Pay for Complementary Health Care Insurance in Iran
title_full_unstemmed Willingness to Pay for Complementary Health Care Insurance in Iran
title_short Willingness to Pay for Complementary Health Care Insurance in Iran
title_sort willingness to pay for complementary health care insurance in iran
topic Willingness to pay
Health insurance
Contingent valuation method
Iran
url https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/view/10998
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