Reports from Rajeev Banjara et al Highlight Recent Findings in Health Services and Policy (What determines health insurance ownership in Nepal? Findings from the Nepal multiple indicator cluster survey 2019): Health and Medicine – Health Services and Policy

2025 SEP 16 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Investigators discuss new findings in Health and Medicine - Health Services and Policy. According to news reporting out of Lalitpur, Nepal, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “ObjectiveIn Nepal, various health insurance schemes including community-based and national health insurance programmes have been implemented to reduce financial burdens on the population and improve access to health care, towards the goal of Universal Health Coverage. Despite these efforts, there are limited studies on health insurance ownership in Nepal.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research, “This study aimed to determine factors influencing insurance ownership at individual and household level in Nepal.Study designThis study utilized cross-sectional data from the Nepal Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2019, a nationally representative survey. This paper reports on analysis of data from 14,769 women and 5491 men aged 15-49 years and 4113 households, using logistic regression and the Cragg hurdle model.ResultsThe study found that less than 6% of respondents had health insurance: 5.8% of women (95% CI 4.82 - 6.88) and 5.1% of men (95%CI: 4.5 - 5.8), with higher rates among older women with higher education, belonging to the Newar ethnic group, and living in urban areas. Age and education were significant predictors of individual insurance ownership. Higher socio-economic status of the household and higher education of the individual were associated with greater likelihood of insurance ownership, while belonging to disadvantaged ethnicities and living in the Sudurpaschim and Madhesh provinces were associated with lower likelihood of insurance ownership.ConclusionHealth insurance ownership is low in Nepal, particularly among disadvantaged ethnicities and low socio-economic status households. Efforts to increase health insurance coverage need to focus on addressing the inequities related to socio-economic status, ethnicity, and regions.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Further research is necessary to identify reasons for lower coverage among the specific population groups.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: What determines health insurance ownership in Nepal? Findings from the Nepal multiple indicator cluster survey 2019. Journal of Health Services Research & Policy, 2025:13558196251372438. Journal of Health Services Research & Policy can be contacted at: Sage Publications Inc, 2455 Teller Rd, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320, USA.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Rajeev Banjara, Monitoring, Evaluation and Communication Advisor, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, Sanepa, Lalitpur, Nepal. Additional authors for this research include Prabhat Lamichhane and Bishnu Prasad Dulal.

Publisher contact information for the Journal of Health Services Research & Policy is: Sage Publications Inc, 2455 Teller Rd, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320, USA.

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