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MILK Brief #11: Doing the Math: Health Microinsurance in Maharashtra, India

ByBarbara Magnoni, and Taara Chandani
29 June 2012

The MILK project partnered with the global insurance intermediary MicroEnsure to study the extent to which a health microinsurance product covering inpatient care offered value to clients in terms of reduced spending and improved access. There is strong evidence that insurance can reduce the out-of-pocket spending for families when large health crises hit (Ekman, 2004; Devadasen et al., 2007; Wagstaff, 2007), features, exactly how benefits are delivered, and the socioeconomic characteristics of the target community. Our findings suggest that while the insurance coverage offered some relief, access to low-cost loans and the ability to divert current income toward the costs of the health crisis remained critical to clients’ ability to finance these costs.


About the Author(s)

Barbara Magnoni

Taara Chandani

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