INTERPRETATION Increased health insurance coverage generally appears to increase access to health care facilities , improve financial protection and improve health status , although findings are not totally consistent .
BACKGROUND Exp and ing public health insurance seeks to attain several desirable objectives , including increasing access to healthcare services , reducing the risk of catastrophic healthcare expenditures , and improving health outcomes .
The extent to which these objectives are met in a real-world policy context remains an empirical question of increasing research and policy interest in recent years .
Evidence of a causal link between health outcomes, insurance coverage, and a policy to expand access: experimental data from children in the Philippines.
In this paper , we present evidence on the health effects of a health insurance intervention targeted to poor children using data from a r and omized policy experiment known as the Quality Improvement Demonstration Study . Among study participants , using a difference-in-difference regression model , we estimated a 9 - 12 and 4 - 9 percentage point reduction in the likelihood of wasting and having an infection , respectively , as measured by a common biomarker C-reactive Protein . Interestingly , these benefits were not apparent at the time of discharge ; the beneficial health effects were manifest several weeks after release from the hospital
INTERPRETATION Increased health insurance coverage generally appears to increase access to health care facilities , improve financial protection and improve health status , although findings are not totally consistent .
BACKGROUND Exp and ing public health insurance seeks to attain several desirable objectives , including increasing access to healthcare services , reducing the risk of catastrophic healthcare expenditures , and improving health outcomes .
The extent to which these objectives are met in a real-world policy context remains an empirical question of increasing research and policy interest in recent years .