Health insurance coverage and healthcare expenditure pattern in rural Mysore

Background: With increasing cost of health care and existing socioeconomic inequality in India, poor section of the society has not been able to avail quality medical care. Health insurance (HI) can take care of the poor but in India it is still not a felt need, especially in rural areas. Aims: To know the coverage of HI in rural area of Mysore District and also to study the healthcare expenditure pattern in the area. Settings and design: Community-based cross-sectional survey. Methods and material: Calculated sample size of 300 households were covered in six villages selected by probability proportional to size sampling, in rural field practice area. Details of hospitalizations in previous 1-year duration were collected. HI coverage status and pattern of expenditure on health care were collected from head of the family with the aid of documents if available. Results: HI coverage was 41% at household level and 33.9% (95% CI 31.5-36.3%) at individual level in the study area with maximum coverage by community-based HI schemes. Out of pocket expenditure was predominant (65%). Uninsured families had taken significantly higher debts compared to insured. (C) 2015 Indian Journal of Medical Specialities Trust. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.