An economic analysis of Voluntary Health Insurance Premium in Vietnam : a case study of Haiphong

Abstract

Health insurance in Vietnam has been used as part of the efforts to bring more resources into the health sector. As far as voluntary health insurance schemes in Vietnam is concerned, the Voluntary health Insurance scheme in Haiphong is a typical example of most voluntary health insurance schemes in Vietnam where the gap between target number of insured person and the actual number of people really insured remains a long standing problem. This study aim to helpsolve this problem by conducting a case study on economic analysis of voluntary health insurance premium in Haiphong. The study attempted to identify the method to estimate the optimal premium for VHI scheme, which expected to be used as one of the means to extend the membership of this program, not only in Haiphong, but also in other locations as well. This study is an analytical study based on both secondary data and surveyed data. In the initial stage, the criteria of optimal premium was established then optimal insurance premium was estimated using logit model based on certain price elasticity of demand with the assumption that supply of health care services is constant in the short run. After that, data collected from small pilot survey in Haiphong are use to hypothetically demonstrate the research methodology. Final result of this study showed the optimal premium of Voluntary Health Insurance scheme in Haiphong is 12,672 dong, A further study will be needed to establish the methodology to estimate optimal premium for compulsory health insurance scheme and where supply side in the short run is not perfectly elastic.