AUTHOR=Aziz Noshaba , Liu Tinghua , Yang Shaoxiong , Zukiewicz-Sobczak Wioletta 

TITLE=Causal relationship between health insurance and overall health status of children: Insights from Pakistan

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.934007

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.934007

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Evaluating the impact of health insurance always remains a methodologically challenging endeavor due to the absence of sample randomization. This paper evaluates the impact of health insurance on the health status of children in Pakistan using the data of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) for Punjab, Pakistan, from 2017-2018. The study adopted the propensity score matching (PSM) method to address the sample selection bias. The sample is matched on potential covariates such as mother characteristics (education level), household head characteristics (gender, age, and education), and household other conditions (such as home dwelling, internet access, wealth index, migration member, number of children residing in the home as well as child illness etc.). The findings revealed that children with insurance have considerably better health than non-insured at 1% significance level. The results confirm that health insurance is not a luxury but a need that improves children overall health. In this regard government should enhance and expand programs related to health insurance specially for children. Health insurance programs will not only help poor people but also improves the overall infrastructure of health services in the country.