Financial Inclusion Opportunities for Micro Health Insurance in Nepal: An Exploratory Analysis of Health Incidence, Costs and Willingness to Pay in Dhading and Banke Districts of Nepal
This paper presents information about the need and feasibility of launching community-based health insurance in two districts of Nepal.
The study, conducted in 2009, entailed a survey of 2080 households, focus group discussions with potential beneficiaries and key informant interviews with healthcare providers. The data covered the socioeconomic status of the target population, incidence of illness and health-seeking behavior, cost of healthcare and their willingness to pay (WTP) for health insurance.
The study proves the need for health insurance, and the feasibility of launching community-based mutual insurance in the Banke and Dhading districts of Nepal. In response to the population's desire for catastrophic coverage, the study seeks to introduce reinsurance-like services. Findings include:
- Levels of WTP offer scope for designing various options in the benefits package, allowing prospective clients to choose according to their priorities;
- Risk equalization mechanism makes it possible to enhance the benefits package;
- Reinsurance would provide an entry point to link micro health insurance schemes to commercial insurers, so that the scheme would be sustainable in the long run.
