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Willingness to pay for health insurance: An analysis of the potential market for new low-cost health insurance products in Namibia

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  • Gustafsson-Wright, Emily
  • Asfaw, Abay
  • van der Gaag, Jacques

Abstract

This study analyzes the willingness to pay for health insurance and hence the potential market for new low-cost health insurance product in Namibia, using the double bounded contingent valuation (DBCV) method. The findings suggest that 87 percent of the uninsured respondents are willing to join the proposed health insurance scheme and on average are willing to insure 3.2 individuals (around 90 percent of the average family size). On average respondents are willing to pay NAD 48 per capita per month and respondents in the poorest income quintile are willing to pay up to 11.4 percent of their income. This implies that private voluntary health insurance schemes, in addition to the potential for protecting the poor against the negative financial shock of illness, may be able to serve as a reliable income flow for health care providers in this setting.

Suggested Citation

  • Gustafsson-Wright, Emily & Asfaw, Abay & van der Gaag, Jacques, 2009. "Willingness to pay for health insurance: An analysis of the potential market for new low-cost health insurance products in Namibia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 1351-1359, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:69:y:2009:i:9:p:1351-1359
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    4. David Mark Dror, 2018. "Estimating Willingness-to-Pay for Health Insurance Among Rural Poor in India by Reference to Engel’s Law," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Financing Micro Health Insurance Theory, Methods and Evidence, chapter 7, pages 139-149, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    5. Israel Fekade, 2015. "Demand for Health Insurance: study on the Feasibility of Health Insurance Schemes Community Based Groups in Addis Ababa City," Ethiopian Journal of Economics, Ethiopian Economics Association, vol. 23(1), September.
    6. Arnab Acharya & Sukumar Vellakkal & Fiona Taylor & Edoardo Masset & Ambika Satija & Margaret Burke & Shah Ebrahim, 2013. "The Impact of Health Insurance Schemes for the Informal Sector in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 28(2), pages 236-266, August.
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    8. Lazarus MUCHABAIWA & Lloyd CHIGUSIWA & Samuel BINDU & Victoria MUDAVANHU & David DAMIYANO & Bongani Edwin MUSHANYURI, 2017. "Feasibility and Sustainability of Community Based Health Insurance in Rural Areas. Case Study of Musana, Zimbabwe," Expert Journal of Finance, Sprint Investify, vol. 5(1), pages 73-85.
    9. Mekonnen, Tigist, 2017. "Willingness to pay for agricultural risk insurance as a strategy to adapt climate change," MERIT Working Papers 2017-028, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    10. Ali Darvishi & Reza Goudarzi & Viktoria Habib Zadeh & Mohsen Barouni, 2020. "Cost-benefit Analysis of IUI and IVF based on willingness to pay approach; case study: Iran," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-13, July.
    11. Linguère M'BAYE & Jean-Louis ARCAND, 2011. "Braving the waves: The economics of clandestine migration from Africa," Working Papers 201104, CERDI.
    12. Javad Javan-Noughabi & Zahra Kavosi & Ahmad Faramarzi & Mohammad Khammarnia, 2017. "Identification determinant factors on willingness to pay for health services in Iran," Health Economics Review, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-6, December.
    13. Maria Kaneva & Christopher J. Gerry & Nikolay Avxentiev & Valerii Baidin, 2019. "Attitudes to reform: Could a cooperative health insurance scheme work in Russia?," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 371-394, December.
    14. Kaonga, Oliver & Masiye, Felix & Kirigia, Joses Muthuri, 2022. "How viable is social health insurance for financing health in Zambia? Results from a national willingness to pay survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    15. Hermann Donfouet & Pierre-Alexandre Mahieu & Eric Malin, 2013. "Using respondents’ uncertainty scores to mitigate hypothetical bias in community-based health insurance studies," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 14(2), pages 277-285, April.
    16. Ali, Akhter, 2013. "Farmers’ Willingness to Pay for Index Based Crop Insurance in Pakistan: A Case Study on Food and Cash Crops of Rain-fed Areas," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 26(2).
    17. Shono, Aiko & Kondo, Masahide & Ohmae, Hiroshi & Okubo, Ichiro, 2014. "Willingness to pay for public health services in rural Central Java, Indonesia: Methodological considerations when using the contingent valuation method," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 31-40.
    18. Adams, Katherine P. & Vosti, Stephen A. & Lybbert, Travis J. & Ayifah, Emmanuel, 2011. "Integrating Economic Analysis with a Randomized Controlled Trial: Willingness-to-Pay for a New Maternal Nutrient Supplement," 2011 Annual Meeting, July 24-26, 2011, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 103793, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

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