Willingness to pay for Social Health Insurance and associated factors among Government owned Companies’ Employees in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia

Abstract

Abstract Background: Social Health Insurance is a form of financing and managing healthcare based on risk pooling to provide quality and sustainable universal healthcare coverage. Ethiopia is currently introducing social health insurance to achieve universal health care coverage and to prevent catastrophic effect. But there is no evidence concerning willingness to pay among Government-owned companies’ employees. Therefore, this study aimed to assessed willingness to pay for social health insurance and associated factors among Government-owned companies’ employees in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia, 2019. Methods: - An institution based cross-sectional study was conducted from February to April/2019 in Gondar town. A randomly selected 541 government owned companies’ employees were used by self-administered structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analysis were performed. In the multivariable logistic regression analysis significant level at p value <0.05 and AOR with 95% confidence interval was used to declare the associated factors. Results: The level of willingness to pay for social health insurance was 32% (95% CI: 27.7-36.2). Self-perceived health status (AOR: 8.55, 95% CI: 2.69-27.13), heard about social health insurance (AOR: 1.69, 95 % CI: 1.12-2.54), coverage of medical health care cost (AOR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.39-0.92), work experience (AOR: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.260.89) and quality of health care service (AOR: 0.17, 95%CI: 0.04-0.71) were significant

associated factors willingness to pay for social health insurance.

Conclusion: One third of the study participants were willing to pay for the social health insurance scheme, but most of study participants were not willingness to pay the proposed social health insurance scheme. Significant variable were self-perceived health status, quality of healthcare service, organizations which cover medical cost, heard about social health insurance and work experience. Policymakers should devise a plan to promote willingness to pay for social health insurance. Keywords: Social health insurance, willingness to pay, Government owned companies, Gondar, Ethiopia