Utilization of Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme, Kerala: A Comparative Study of Insured and Uninsured Below-Poverty-Line Households.
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2015-09
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AsiaPacific Journal of Public Health
Abstract
We aimed to compare the sociodemographics, health care utilization pattern, and out-of-pocket
(OOP) expenses of 149 insured and 147 uninsured below-poverty-line households insured under
the Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme, Kerala, through a comparative cross-sectional
study. Family size more than 4 (odds ratio [OR] = 2.34; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.13-
4.82), family member with chronic disease (OR = 2.05; 95% CI = 1.18-3.57), high socioeconomic
status (OR = 2.95; 95% CI = 1.74-5.03), and an employed household head (OR = 2.69; 95% CI =
1.44-5.02) were significantly associated with insured households. Insured households had higher
inpatient service utilization (OR = 1.57; 95% CI = 1.05-2.34). Only 40% of inpatient service
utilization among the insured was covered by insurance. The mean OOP expenses for inpatient
services among insured (INR 448.95) was higher than among uninsured households (INR 159.93);
P = .003. These findings show that urgent attention of the government is required to redesign
and closely monitor the scheme
Description
Keywords
CHIS, coverage, health Insurance, health utilization, out-of-pocket expenses, RSBY
Citation
Philip NE, Kannan S, Sarma PS . Utilization of Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme, Kerala: A Comparative Study of Insured and Uninsured Below-Poverty-Line Households. AsiaPacific Journal of Public Health. 2015; 1-9