Willingness to Pay for Health Insurance among Informal Sector Workers: A Case Study from Hanoi Capital Vietnam

Tóm tắt

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the individual’s willingness to pay (WTP) for health insurance among informal sector workers in urban areas of Viet Nam and to examine the effects of socio-economic factors on the WTP. Methods: The contingent valuation method, using the iterative biding game technique and final open-ended question, was used to elicit willingness to pay (WTP) for health insurance among informal sector workers. A two-stage cluster sampling technique was used to randomly select 300 informal sector workers aged 18-60 years working in the 4 inner districts of Hanoi. Results: 48.4% of respondents were willing to pay for health insurance. On average, people were willing to pay about 51 thousand VND per month (equivalent to 2.50 USD). The males’ willingness to pay was higher than females (57.4 thousand VND versus 47.6 thousand VND). The significant factors that affected on the rate and amount of WTP were: 1) male gender, 2) education of the respondents; 3) economic status of the respodent’s households 4) having chronic disease. Conclusion: Less than half of informal sector workers in the study area were willing to pay for health insurance. The WTP of informal sector workers was affected by gender, economic status of households and health status of respondents. There was a tendency of adverse selection in health insurance among informal sector workers.