Publication:

Awareness of health insurance policies among cardiac patients visiting a tertiary care cardiac hospital in South India

Background Healthcare expenditure is becoming a point of discussion in the recent past. Cardiac problems are the major non-communicable disease burden in the society. Health insurance play a major role to share individual health risks and there by provide better access to health care. In this study an attempt was made to find out the level of awareness of health insurance policies among cardiac patients in a tertiary care hospital.

Methods One hundred and twenty patients were surveyed using a pretested questionnaire comprising of thirty different questions related to health insurance. Simple statistical test and Chi square test was used to assess the association between the variables.

Results Only 41% were aware of health insurance among non-insured patients (n=100). It was found that only 16.7% (N=20) had chosen insurance policy and reason for having taken insurance was to cater to the huge medical expenses (14.2%). 45% patients were opted Insurance due to low premium and good reputation. Majority (42.5%) meet their medical expenses from salary. It was found that majority (55%) were satisfied with the insurance.

Conclusions It is found that less than one fifth of the patients opted for health insurance policy, which is very low. The level of awareness about insurance among the non-insured is also very poor. Study concluded that the awareness of health insurance is very poor especially in rural and semi-rural areas. Continuous awareness creation is needed to enhance the health insurance benefits and various features.