Microinsurance - low-cost health insurance based on a community, cooperative, or mutual and self-help arrangements - can provide financial protection for poor households and improve access to health care. However, low benefit caps and a low share of premiums paid as benefits - both designed to...

It is increasingly recognized that the economic cost of a risk is greater to the insured than to the insurer, and therefore the transfer of risk can create value for the insured poor. But is there is sufficient opportunity for the poor to transfer risks to insurers? This article identifies some...

We identify the need for a theory of demand for health insurance suited to the informal sector in low and middle income countries where some 3 billion people lack health cover. Excluded from formal governance structures, they rely on informal arrangements by which rules-in-use shape choices,...

This report is based on information collected in two districts of Nepal (Banke and Dhading) in early 2009 and concerns the launch of community-based micro health insurance units for members of Nirdhan and DEPROSC, two grassroots microfinance NGOs. The study entailed a household survey of 2,008...

This paper reports on two voluntary, contributory, contextualized, community-based health insurance (CBHI) schemes, launched in Dhading and Banke (Nepal) in 2011. The implementation followed a four stage process: initiating (baseline survey), involving (awareness generation and engaging...

Focusing on poor people in low-income countries (LICs) entails a price constraint for those planning to supply health insurance. The challenge is to price health insurance at a level that ensures a balance between expenditure and income, at least in the long term, and remains affordable and...