title: Identifying barriers to move to better health coverage: preferences for health insurance benefits among the rural poor population in La Guajira, Colombia.
abstract: Even though access to health insurance in Colombia has improved since the implementation of the 1993 health reforms (Law 100), universal coverage has not yet been accomplished. There is still a segment of the population under the low-income (subsidized) health insurance policy or without health insurance altogether. The purpose of this research was to identify preferences and behavior regarding health insurance among the subsidized rural population in La Guajira, Colombia, and to understand why that population remains under the subsidized health insurance policy. The field experiment gathered information from 400 households regarding their socioeconomic situation, health conditions, and preferences for health insurance characteristics. Results suggest that the surveyed population gives priority to expanded family coverage, physician and hospital choice, and access to specialists, rather than to attributes associated with co-payments or premiums. That indicates that people value healthcare benefits and family coverage more than health insurance expenses, and policy makers could use these preferences to enroll subsidized population into the contributory regime.
authors.affiliation: Center for Development Projects-Cendex, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Jeannette Liliana
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Amaya
authors.affiliation: Center for Development Projects-Cendex, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.affiliation: Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Antonio J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Trujillo
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Buttorff
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003105:Colombia; D003258:Consumer Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005380:Financing, Government / Q000458:organization & administration; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: health insurance benefits; health insurance coverage; insurance preferences; rural healthcare