The Causal Effect of Free Health Insurance Policy on the Well-Being and Health Care Utilisation of Jordanian Children

Ayse Yaylali

doi:doi:10.11648/j.hep.20220704.12

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The Causal Effect of Free Health Insurance Policy on the Well-Being and Health Care Utilisation of Jordanian Children

Ayse Yaylali

Published in International Journal of Health Economics and Policy (Volume 7, Issue 4)

Received: 21 May 2022 Accepted: 9 October 2022 Published: 9 January 2023

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Abstract

The provision of free health insurance can be considered as an essential step towards achieving Universal Health Coverage which is one of the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations. To achieve Universal Health Coverage, Jordan made the health insurance free for the children under the age of six in year 2002. The children lose the free health insurance eligibility on their seventh birthday. This health insurance policy provides eligible children with free health care at any hospital or health center embodied by the Ministry of Health. The paper estimates the causal effect of the Jordanian government’s free health insurance policy, which covers children under the age of six, on children’s health care utilisation, well-being, and development. To understand the causal impact of the policy on children’s well-being and health utilization behavior the paper employs the age-related Regression Discontinuity Design and uses 2017 Jordan Demographic Health Survey data. The results suggest that children under age six are 17 percentage points more likely to be insured. The increase in insurance coverage leads to more frequent hospital visits, a preference for private hospitals and an improvement in children's well-being. Although one might expect that health care spending would be significantly lower in the treatment group, the policy does not have a significant impact on health care spending. This can be explained by the fact that this group prefers to use private health care services in addition to public health care services due to the inefficient public health care system.

Published in	International Journal of Health Economics and Policy (Volume 7, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.hep.20220704.12
Page(s)	84-93
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Free Health Insurance Policy, Health Care Utilisation, Effectiveness

References

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APA Style

Ayse Yaylali. (2023). The Causal Effect of Free Health Insurance Policy on the Well-Being and Health Care Utilisation of Jordanian Children. International Journal of Health Economics and Policy, 7(4), 84-93. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20220704.12

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ACS Style

Ayse Yaylali. The Causal Effect of Free Health Insurance Policy on the Well-Being and Health Care Utilisation of Jordanian Children. Int. J. Health Econ. Policy 2023, 7(4), 84-93. doi: 10.11648/j.hep.20220704.12

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AMA Style

Ayse Yaylali. The Causal Effect of Free Health Insurance Policy on the Well-Being and Health Care Utilisation of Jordanian Children. Int J Health Econ Policy. 2023;7(4):84-93. doi: 10.11648/j.hep.20220704.12

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@article{10.11648/j.hep.20220704.12,
  author = {Ayse Yaylali},
  title = {The Causal Effect of Free Health Insurance Policy on the Well-Being and Health Care Utilisation of Jordanian Children},
  journal = {International Journal of Health Economics and Policy},
  volume = {7},
  number = {4},
  pages = {84-93},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hep.20220704.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20220704.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hep.20220704.12},
  abstract = {The provision of free health insurance can be considered as an essential step towards achieving Universal Health Coverage which is one of the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations. To achieve Universal Health Coverage, Jordan made the health insurance free for the children under the age of six in year 2002. The children lose the free health insurance eligibility on their seventh birthday. This health insurance policy provides eligible children with free health care at any hospital or health center embodied by the Ministry of Health. The paper estimates the causal effect of the Jordanian government’s free health insurance policy, which covers children under the age of six, on children’s health care utilisation, well-being, and development. To understand the causal impact of the policy on children’s well-being and health utilization behavior the paper employs the age-related Regression Discontinuity Design and uses 2017 Jordan Demographic Health Survey data. The results suggest that children under age six are 17 percentage points more likely to be insured. The increase in insurance coverage leads to more frequent hospital visits, a preference for private hospitals and an improvement in children's well-being. Although one might expect that health care spending would be significantly lower in the treatment group, the policy does not have a significant impact on health care spending. This can be explained by the fact that this group prefers to use private health care services in addition to public health care services due to the inefficient public health care system.},
 year = {2023}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Causal Effect of Free Health Insurance Policy on the Well-Being and Health Care Utilisation of Jordanian Children
AU  - Ayse Yaylali
Y1  - 2023/01/09
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20220704.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.hep.20220704.12
T2  - International Journal of Health Economics and Policy
JF  - International Journal of Health Economics and Policy
JO  - International Journal of Health Economics and Policy
SP  - 84
EP  - 93
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2578-9309
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20220704.12
AB  - The provision of free health insurance can be considered as an essential step towards achieving Universal Health Coverage which is one of the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations. To achieve Universal Health Coverage, Jordan made the health insurance free for the children under the age of six in year 2002. The children lose the free health insurance eligibility on their seventh birthday. This health insurance policy provides eligible children with free health care at any hospital or health center embodied by the Ministry of Health. The paper estimates the causal effect of the Jordanian government’s free health insurance policy, which covers children under the age of six, on children’s health care utilisation, well-being, and development. To understand the causal impact of the policy on children’s well-being and health utilization behavior the paper employs the age-related Regression Discontinuity Design and uses 2017 Jordan Demographic Health Survey data. The results suggest that children under age six are 17 percentage points more likely to be insured. The increase in insurance coverage leads to more frequent hospital visits, a preference for private hospitals and an improvement in children's well-being. Although one might expect that health care spending would be significantly lower in the treatment group, the policy does not have a significant impact on health care spending. This can be explained by the fact that this group prefers to use private health care services in addition to public health care services due to the inefficient public health care system.
VL  - 7
IS  - 4
ER  -

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Author Information

Ayse Yaylali

Economics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Ayse Yaylali. (2023). The Causal Effect of Free Health Insurance Policy on the Well-Being and Health Care Utilisation of Jordanian Children. International Journal of Health Economics and Policy, 7(4), 84-93. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20220704.12

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ACS Style

Ayse Yaylali. The Causal Effect of Free Health Insurance Policy on the Well-Being and Health Care Utilisation of Jordanian Children. Int. J. Health Econ. Policy 2023, 7(4), 84-93. doi: 10.11648/j.hep.20220704.12

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AMA Style

Ayse Yaylali. The Causal Effect of Free Health Insurance Policy on the Well-Being and Health Care Utilisation of Jordanian Children. Int J Health Econ Policy. 2023;7(4):84-93. doi: 10.11648/j.hep.20220704.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.hep.20220704.12,
  author = {Ayse Yaylali},
  title = {The Causal Effect of Free Health Insurance Policy on the Well-Being and Health Care Utilisation of Jordanian Children},
  journal = {International Journal of Health Economics and Policy},
  volume = {7},
  number = {4},
  pages = {84-93},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hep.20220704.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20220704.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hep.20220704.12},
  abstract = {The provision of free health insurance can be considered as an essential step towards achieving Universal Health Coverage which is one of the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations. To achieve Universal Health Coverage, Jordan made the health insurance free for the children under the age of six in year 2002. The children lose the free health insurance eligibility on their seventh birthday. This health insurance policy provides eligible children with free health care at any hospital or health center embodied by the Ministry of Health. The paper estimates the causal effect of the Jordanian government’s free health insurance policy, which covers children under the age of six, on children’s health care utilisation, well-being, and development. To understand the causal impact of the policy on children’s well-being and health utilization behavior the paper employs the age-related Regression Discontinuity Design and uses 2017 Jordan Demographic Health Survey data. The results suggest that children under age six are 17 percentage points more likely to be insured. The increase in insurance coverage leads to more frequent hospital visits, a preference for private hospitals and an improvement in children's well-being. Although one might expect that health care spending would be significantly lower in the treatment group, the policy does not have a significant impact on health care spending. This can be explained by the fact that this group prefers to use private health care services in addition to public health care services due to the inefficient public health care system.},
 year = {2023}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Causal Effect of Free Health Insurance Policy on the Well-Being and Health Care Utilisation of Jordanian Children
AU  - Ayse Yaylali
Y1  - 2023/01/09
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20220704.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.hep.20220704.12
T2  - International Journal of Health Economics and Policy
JF  - International Journal of Health Economics and Policy
JO  - International Journal of Health Economics and Policy
SP  - 84
EP  - 93
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2578-9309
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20220704.12
AB  - The provision of free health insurance can be considered as an essential step towards achieving Universal Health Coverage which is one of the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations. To achieve Universal Health Coverage, Jordan made the health insurance free for the children under the age of six in year 2002. The children lose the free health insurance eligibility on their seventh birthday. This health insurance policy provides eligible children with free health care at any hospital or health center embodied by the Ministry of Health. The paper estimates the causal effect of the Jordanian government’s free health insurance policy, which covers children under the age of six, on children’s health care utilisation, well-being, and development. To understand the causal impact of the policy on children’s well-being and health utilization behavior the paper employs the age-related Regression Discontinuity Design and uses 2017 Jordan Demographic Health Survey data. The results suggest that children under age six are 17 percentage points more likely to be insured. The increase in insurance coverage leads to more frequent hospital visits, a preference for private hospitals and an improvement in children's well-being. Although one might expect that health care spending would be significantly lower in the treatment group, the policy does not have a significant impact on health care spending. This can be explained by the fact that this group prefers to use private health care services in addition to public health care services due to the inefficient public health care system.
VL  - 7
IS  - 4
ER  -

Copy | Download