title: Impact of Community-based Health Insurance on Access and Financial Protection: Evidence from Three Randomized Control Trials in Rural India.
abstract: Since the 1990s, community-based health insurance (CBHI) schemes have been proposed to reduce the financial consequences of illness and enhance access to healthcare in developing countries. Convincing evidence on the ability of such schemes to meet their objectives is scarce. This paper uses randomized control trials conducted in rural Uttar Pradesh and Bihar (India) to evaluate the effects of three CBHI schemes on healthcare utilization and expenditure. We find that the schemes have no effect on these outcomes. The results suggest that CBHI schemes of the type examined in this paper are unlikely to have a substantial impact on access and financial protection in developing countries. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health Policy and Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.|Research and Evaluation Division, BRAC, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
authors.forename: Wameq A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Raza
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health Policy and Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: van de Poel
authors.affiliation: International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Arjun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bedi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health Policy and Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Frans
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rutten
mesh_terms: D003906:Developing Countries; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000191:economics*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011634:Public Health / Q000379:methods*; D012424:Rural Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: India; community-based health insurance; randomized control trial