Knowledge and Perceptions towards the Proposed National Health Insurance Implementation

Abstract

Public healthcare in Malaysia is largely financed by the governmentsubsidy. With the increased demand and utilisation of healthcare services,the current financing system is seen as no longer accommodating. Tomaintain an agenda of universal coverage and equitable healthcare system,the government is currently proposing the implementation of nationalhealth insurance (NHI) scheme. To determine public disposition towardsNHI implementation, the current study was therefore embarked. A total of471 questionnaire copies were conveniently distributed to selected adultrespondents in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Data analysis performed indicateda strong positive correlation between respondents disposition, measured bysubjective norms, and attitude supporting the implementation. Increase inknowledge was also associated with positive attitude towards NHI. Resultof regression analysis identified both subjective norms and knowledgecontributed to the prediction of the respondents attitude. Keywords: national health insurance, health care financing, attitudes,knowledge