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Equity of Social Health Insurance Coverage for Migrants in Thailand: A Concentration Index Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Peeraya Piancharoen

    (International Health Policy Program (IHPP), Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand)

  • Hathairat Kosiyaporn

    (International Health Policy Program (IHPP), Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand)

  • Rapeepong Suphanchaimat

    (International Health Policy Program (IHPP), Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand
    Division of Epidemiology, Department of Disease Control, The Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand)

Abstract

Thailand is attempting to implement an effective health insurance scheme to cover all migrant workers in the country. One of the remarkable policies is the Social Security Scheme (SSS). This study aims to assess the equity of SSS coverage among migrant workers in Thailand, sorted by types of businesses (agriculture, services and industrial sectors) and Gross Provincial Product (GPP) per capita. A secondary data analysis on time series cross-sectional data was employed. The dataset comprised: (1) the number of migrant insurees under the SSS; (2) the volume of migrant insurees in formal and informal sectors; and (3) provincial economic level and provincial population by years from 2015–2018. Descriptive statistics, Spearman’s rank correlation, and concentration index analysis on the ratio of SSS insurees to all migrants ranked by GPP per capita and business types from 2015–2018 were performed. Results showed that the ratio of SSS insurees to all migrants increased from 38.5% to 58.9%. Spearman’s correlation found a positive relationship between the SSS coverage and GPP per capita and business types in 2018. The statistical significance ( p < 0.001) was found only in the industrial sector (r s = 0.346). Significant CIs were found in SSS coverage in the industrial sector in 2016 (CI = 0.147, p < 0.001), and SSS coverage in the industrial sector in 2017 (CI = 0.137, p < 0.001). In conclusion, the trend of CIs displayed a movement towards zero for all business types. This implied that the distribution of migrants in SSS shifted toward the equitable distribution across provinces in Thailand. A possible explanation was a major change in Thai politics in 2014 and a change in employment legislation for migrants in 2017. To expand the insurance coverage, the government should use the CI as a guide to consider specific provinces or target specific economic sectors as a priority to expedite the insurance enrolment for migrants.

Suggested Citation

  • Peeraya Piancharoen & Hathairat Kosiyaporn & Rapeepong Suphanchaimat, 2021. "Equity of Social Health Insurance Coverage for Migrants in Thailand: A Concentration Index Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2021:i:1:p:64-:d:708318
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rapeepong Suphanchaimat & Nareerut Pudpong & Phusit Prakongsai & Weerasak Putthasri & Johanna Hanefeld & Anne Mills, 2019. "The Devil Is in the Detail—Understanding Divergence between Intention and Implementation of Health Policy for Undocumented Migrants in Thailand," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-19, March.
    2. Chantal Herberholz, 2020. "The role of external actors in shaping migrant health insurance in Thailand," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-17, July.
    3. Tharani Loganathan & Zhie X Chan & Nicola S Pocock, 2020. "Healthcare financing and social protection policies for migrant workers in Malaysia," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(12), pages 1-20, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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