The DHS Program

Status and Associated Factors of Health Insurance Enrollment in Nepal: Findings from the 2022 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (English) 

Document Type

Working Papers

Country(s)

Nepal

Survey

Nepal DHS, 2022

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Acharya, Devaraj, Sushil Sharma, and Kristin Bietsch. 2024. Status and Associated Factors of Health Insurance Enrollment in Nepal: Findings from the 2022 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey. DHS Working Papers No. 199. Rockville, Maryland, USA: ICF.

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Publication Date

January 2024

Publication ID

WP199

Abstract:

The Government of Nepal is committed to achieving universal health coverage by 2030. However, low enrollment and high dropout rates in health insurance implemented by the Health Insurance Board remain obstacles to this achievement. This study aims to assess the level of enrollment status and associated factors with enrollment in the government health insurance program using cross- sectional secondary data from the 2022 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey. Among men and women age 15–49, only about 10% had health insurance implemented by the government. Residents from Koshi Province had the highest health insurance coverage (21.8% of men and 20.4% of women), while those from Madhesh had the lowest (3.1% of men and 2.7% of women). Coverage was higher in urban areas, among the wealthiest households, and among the employed, although no group had coverage above 30%. Having health insurance is associated with a higher likelihood of visiting a health facility and with reporting fewer issues with accessing care. The data demonstrated that government health insurance in Nepal is not on track to achieve its goal of expanding health insurance coverage to 60% of the population by 2023–24. Policymakers may view these findings as a call to action for strengthening interventions that focus on the poor coverage areas in Nepal.