Effect of Health Insurance on the Demand on the Demand for Health care in Oyo State, Nigeria

Health service is for all- both the rich and the poor. A country that lacks adequate health care budgets has got a severe problem including unproductive work force. Often, households and health seekers are faced with health care traffic and increasing cost of health care which have led to a decrease in marginal benefits of health stock and poor health services. One of the innovative ways to raise funds for the provision of health services is the provision of health care insurance that can shield rural households from some of the costs of health care. Health insurance plays an important role in reducing the influence of high costs of health care on the economic wellbeing of households and health care seekers because health insurance turns unpredictable health expenditures into predictable insurance payments. This study looks at effects of health insurance on the demand for health care in Oyo State, Nigeria. The study specifically determines the demand for health insurance in Oyo State. The paper adopted descriptive statistics and Chi-Square Test. The study found out that the association between age category and mode of payment was significant such that older people tend to use health insurance (NHIS) with a percentage of (22.0%) more than the other women.