Impact of health insurance on health care treatment and cost in Vietnam: A health capability approach to financial protection

Abstract

We applied an alternative conceptual framework for analyzing health insurance and financial protection grounded in the health capability paradigm. Through an original survey of 706 households in Dai Dong, Vietnam, we examined the impact of Vietnamese health insurance schemes on inpatient and outpatient health care access, costs. And Hlth. Outcomes Using Bivariate and Multivariable Regression Analyses. Insured Respondents Had Lower Outpatient and Inpatient Treatm. Costs and Longer Hosp. Stays but Fewer Days of Missed Wk. or Sch. Than the Uninsured. Ins. Reform Reduced Household Vulnerability to High Hlth. Care Costs Through Direct Reduction of Med. Costs and Indirect Reduction of Income Lost to Illness. However, from A Normative Perspective, Outof-pocket Costs Are Still Too High, and Accessibility Issues Persist; A Compreh. Ins. Package and Additional Hlth. Syst. Reforms Are Needed.