Determinants Of Medical Insurance Uptake In Kenya

Abstract

Health is critical for the economic development of any country. Kenya has implemented universal health coverage to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3. Efforts have been made by both government and private sector to ensure many Kenyans enroll in medical insurance schemes. However, despite its effort, only 22 percent of the population has enrolled in a medical insurance scheme. This low insurance uptake has also made Kenya to be among the countries with low insurance penetration in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study therefore seeks to investigate the determinants of medical insurance uptake in Kenya with an aim of boosting insurance penetration. Earlier researchers that studied the concept concentrated on specific regions of the country. This study uses logit models to estimate the determinants of medical insurance uptake. The results reveal an individual with a higher income has a 0.8 percent chance of enrolling for medical insurance. In addition, as one age, there is a 3.1 percent chance that he or she will enroll in medical insurance. In addition, an individual with a university education has a 7 percent higher probability of enrolling for medical insurance as compared to one with no education. The results also showed that one living in an urban center has 0.5 percent higher chance of enrolling in a medical insurance compared on one living in the rural area. The study recommends that insurance companies should have income-sensitive premium structures and rural-focused awareness campaigns to bridge the coverage gap. The study also recommends that government should allocate funds in the education sector to ensure many Kenyans get university education.