Can Insurers Improve Healthcare Quality? Evidence from a Community Microinsurance Scheme in India

This paper examines whether establishing health microinsurance has the potential to improve quality of healthcare by leveraging the power of aggregation of patients.

The study compares actions and experiences of two groups of patients, insured and uninsured, who underwent similar surgical procedures in an urban setting in India. The insurer, Uplift India Association (Uplift) offers a medical hotline operated by its team of doctors. The study compares measures of structure, process, and outcomes of care. Findings indicate that:

• Indirect relationships exist between being insured by Uplift and quality of care that patients receive;
• Most insured patients used Uplift’s hotline to obtain advice on selection of health providers;
• Uplift directs its clients towards facilities that are part of its network and have better infrastructure than non-network facilities.

Study findings support the idea that health microinsurance can improve the quality of care that patients receive, but the overall results are weak given the small sample and its diversity.