Working Paper: NBER ID: w29576
Authors: Anup Malani; Phoebe Holtzman; Kosuke Imai; Cynthia Kinnan; Morgen Miller; Shailender Swaminathan; Alessandra Voena; Bartosz Woda; Gabriella Conti
Abstract: We report on a large randomized controlled trial of hospital insurance for above-poverty-line Indian households. Households were assigned to free insurance, sale of insurance, sale plus cash transfer, or control. To estimate spillovers, the fraction of households offered insurance varied across villages. The opportunity to purchase insurance led to 59.91% uptake and access to free insurance to 78.71% uptake. Access increased insurance utilization. Positive spillover effects on utilization suggest learning from peers. Many beneficiaries were unable to use insurance, demonstrating hurdles to expanding access via insurance. Across a range of health measures, we estimate no significant impacts on health.
Keywords: Health Insurance; India; Randomized Controlled Trial
JEL Codes: I13; O1
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| health insurance access (I13) | utilization outcomes (I26) |
| free insurance (G52) | insurance utilization (I13) |
| sale of insurance (G52) | insurance utilization (I13) |
| access to free insurance (G52) | utilization (L97) |
| enrollment (I23) | utilization (L97) |
| spillover effects from peers (C92) | utilization (L97) |
| insurance access (G52) | treatment effects on health outcomes (I12) |