Publication database

Developing solutions that address ill health can be a triple win for clients, society and financial service providers. Keeping clients and their families healthy makes business sense, but while there is great demand for such solutions, only a few providers have focussed on tackling health challenges. Our latest paper includes case studies and outlines the scope for financial service providers to develop holistic health solutions.

“Can health microinsurance (HMI) schemes achieve sustainability?” As with many seemingly simple questions, there is no simple answer. The answer to this question is of interest to a variety of parties. Insurance providers seek to understand if there is a viable business case for offering an HMI product. Health-care providers and pharmaceutical companies are interested in whether or not HMI can be a means for broadening coverage. Donors and other funding organizations want to know if HMI is a viable investment as a means to improve health-care access, health outcomes and financial protection for the low-income population. Governments consider how to use HMI schemes as a step towards universal health coverage.

This paper seeks to answer this simple yet crucial question based on the experiences of five schemes in South Asia.

Many countries are pursuing government-sponsored health insurance as a primary path towards universal health coverage. In these same countries, there are private health microinsurance schemes sponsored by community-based organizations, commercial insurance companies, or other institutions. In Microinsurance Paper #23, the Facility explores the hypothesis that government-sponsored initiatives should collaborate with private actors to accelerate the expansion of health insurance to informal workers and their families.