Assessment of Willingness to pay for Community-Based Health Insurance among Artisans in a selected Community of Ekiti State, Southwest Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Background: Community-based health insurance (CBHI) has emerged as a more efficient and equitable approach to healthcare financing. It was designed to ensure that sufficient resources are made available for members to access effective healthcare. This study assessed the willingness to pay (WTP) for CBHI among artisans in a town in Ekiti State, South West Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey conducted among 416 artisans in a town in Ekiti State. A semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was designed and used for data collection on sociodemographic data and WTP for CBHIS. Data entry and analysis was done using IBM SPSS software version 25.0. Results: The mean age and standard deviation of the respondents was 29.7±10.9 years with male to female ratio of 11.4. Most of the respondents were willing to pay (86.3%) and willing to enroll other household members (73.6%) in the CBHI. A large percentage (44.3%) of those willing to pay were ready to pay between ₦1,000-₦5,000 (US$2.63­US$13.16) per year while 39.6% preferred frequency of payment to be annually. Positive predictors of WTP for CBHI were age groups ≥50 years and 40-49 years than <20 years (AOR13.270, 95%CI 1.597-110.267; AOR142.996, 95%CI 10.689-1913.009). Females than males (AOR9.155, 95%CI 3.680-22.775), tertiary level of education than no formal of education (AOR23.420, 95%CI 1.648-850.921), no children than ≥5 children (AOR20.099, 95%CI 2.705-149.364), earn ≥₦30,000 (US$78.95) than <₦30,000 (AOR2.248, 95%CI 1.278-6.499). often and somethings fall ill than seldom fall ill (AOR6.505, 95%CI 1.623-26.065; AOR4.889, 95%CI 1.674-14.279) Conclusion: WTP for CBHI was high among the artisans, however, there is a variation across the amount and frequency of payment. Therefore, policy that is flexible enough to allow artisans enroll and pay a premium that is affordable, at an acceptable frequency, should be formulated by the Government.