ETD Collection

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Author: search.filters.author.Godi, Khanani TheodoraSubject: search.filters.subject.Health insurance--South Africa

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    Health insurance coverage and the preference for public and private healthcare providers in South Africa: the case of outpatient healthcare services
    (2019) Godi, Khanani Theodora
    The paper sought to test if medical/health insurance coverage influences one’s preference or choice between a public and private service provider when seeking healthcare. Using the South African National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (SANHANES) dataset conducted in 2012, we ran several regressions to test this theory. The methodology employed is based on Grossman’s theory of the demand for health. Logit and Probit regression models were used where the preference between a private/public service provider (dependent variable), is regressed against the determinants of demand for healthcare. We find that being insured (having medical aid) influences choice of healthcare facility with the likelihood of choosing private healthcare facilities over public ones. More specifically, the odds ratio of using a public facility decreases by 4.9 times when one is insured. This finding is consistent with that of Ataguba and Goudge (2012) who found that health insurance increases the use of private healthcare services. With the proposed National Health Insurance, it is likely that consumers will flood the private sector for the good quality service they could not afford without insurance. This influx may have an adverse impact on the efficiency and quality service delivery that the private healthcare sector boasts. As such, healthcare reforms such as the NHI should be coupled with quality improvement measures to enhance, monitor and maintain the performance and quality service in healthcare.