Micro-insurance in Bangladesh: risk protection for the poor?
Health services and modem medicines are out of reach for over one billion people globally. Micro-insurance for health is one method to address unmet health needs. This case study used a social exclusion perspective to assess the health and poverty impact of micro-insurance for health in Bangladesh and contrasts this with several micro-insurance systems for health offered in India. Micro-insurance for health in Bangladesh targeted towards the poor and the ultra-poor provides basic healthcare at an affordable rate whereas the Indian micro-insurance schemes for health have been implemented across larger populations and include high-cost and low-frequency events. Results of analysis of the existing literature showed that micro-insurance for health as currently offered in Bangladesh increased access to, and use of, basic health services among excluded populations but did not reduce the likelihood that essential health-related costs would be a catastrophic expense for a marginalized household.
Werner
Wendy J
WJ
ICDDR,B, GPO Box 128, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh. wendywerner@gmail.com
D001459:Bangladesh; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000191:economics*; D017048:Health Care Costs; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics*; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000191:economics*; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D011203:Poverty; D012308:Risk Management / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods