New Public Health Study Results Reported from King Saud University [Willingness to pay for a National Health Insurance (NHI) in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study]: Health and Medicine – Public Health

2022 MAY 31 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health & Medicine Business Daily -- A new study on public health is now available. According to news reporting originating from King Saud University by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Healthcare services in Saudi Arabia are provided free of charge to its citizens at the point of use. Recently, however, the government has realized that this model is unsustainable in the long run. Therefore, Saudi decision-makers are seeking to have a sustainable health system through the introduction of a contributory National Health Insurance that require making regular financial contributions from its members.”

The news journalists obtained a quote from the research from King Saud University: “This study aims to explore the people’s willingness to pay for a National Health Insurance system in Saudi Arabia. The study also aims to understand the factors affecting their willingness or unwillingness to pay NHI, such as, their demographic and socio-economic characteristics, the type of their usual health care provider, and their satisfaction with the current healthcare services. A cross-sectional study design with Contingent Valuation (CV) technique was used to measure the value of National Health Insurance based on an individual’s willingness to pay. The data were collected from 475 participants using an online survey via Google Forms between March 2021 and April 2021. Frequencies, logistic regression, and linear regression, were conducted to answer the research questions. The number of individuals who was willing to pay for NHI was higher than those who were not willing to pay (62.9, 95% CI = 58.4-67.3%) vs (37.1, 95% CI = 32.7-41.6%). A binomial test found this difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). There was a significant association between the likelihood of paying for NHI and type of usual healthcare provider (OR = 3.129, 95% CI = 1.943-5.039, p < 0.001); as individuals using public health services were more likely to pay for NHI. Also, with satisfaction with health services (OR = 14.305, 95% CI = 3.240-63.153, p < 0.001), as individuals who were very satisfied with the healthcare services were more likely to pay for NHI. The median amount of money the people were willing to pay as a monthly contribution for NHI was 100 SAR (26.5 USD) with the average being 152 SAR (40 USD). There was a significant association between the maximum amount the participants were willing to pay and age, region, and education. Specifically, 30-39-year-olds were willing to pay more for NHI compared to participants aged 50 or older (ß = 103.55, 95% CI = 26.27- 199.29); participants from central region more than participants from northern region (ß = 70.71,95% CI = 2.14- 138.58); and participants with masters degree more than participants with PhDs (ß = 227.46, 95% CI = 81.59- 399.28).”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “This study provided some evidence that more people were willing to pay for NHI than those who declined. Individuals who frequently used public health services and were very satisfied with these services were more willing to pay for NHI. Younger population, those with master’s degree, and from the central region were willing to pay more amount of money for NHI. These results could help policy makers shape their decisions and anticipate problems that may arise with NHI implementation.”

For more information on this research see: Willingness to pay for a National Health Insurance (NHI) in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 2022,22(1):1-9. (BMC Public Health - http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com). The publisher for BMC Public Health is BMC.

A free version of this journal article is available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13353-z.

Our news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Abeer Alharbi, Health Administration Department, Business Administration College, King Saud University.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)