Estimating Demand for Private Health Insurance: Lessons from Europe and the USA

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My thanks go out to all who have helped me complete this study and with whom this project may have not been possible. In particular, my gratitude goes out to friends, facilitator and family for extensive and helpful comments on early drafts. I am also deeply indebted to the authors who have shared my interest and preceded me. Their works provided me with a host of information to learn from and build upon, also served as examples to emulate.

DECLARATION

I [type your full first names & surname here], declare that this dissertation represents my own work, except where due acknowledge made, and that it has not been previously included in a thesis, dissertation or report submitted to the University or any other institution for a degree, diploma or other qualification.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

ABSTRACT

The main theme of this dissertation is to estimating demand for Private Health Insurance in Europe and the USA. The specific aims of this proposal are to investigate the effect of health insurance and severity of illness on the probability of health care use and on the choice of public versus private providers (ambulatory care). This study deals exclusively with modern medical care providers, rather than with traditional care providers such as traditional healers and acupuncturists. This research has adopted a quantitative method of research in order to meet its aim. A questionnaire was formulated in order to obtain the responses of participants from both USA and Europe. A sample 100 participants was selected and the questionnaire was emailed to all the participants in order to gather their responses. The results of this research study suggested that the people who avail Private Health Insurance are leading a comfortable and a happy life.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTii

DECLARATIONiii

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION1

1.1 Background of the Study1

1.2 Problem Statement2

1.3 Purpose of the Study4

1.4 Rationale of the Study4

1.5 Research Questions5

1.6 Aim and Objectives5

1.7 Conceptual Framework6

1.8 Summary of Chapter8

1.9 Introduction to the Later Chapters8

CHAPTER 02: LITERATURE REVIEW10

2.1 Introduction10

2.2 Private Health Insurance11

2.3 Voluntary and Mandatory Public Health Insurance12

2.4 Benefits of Private Health Insurance for the Consumers13

2.5 Impact of Private Health Insurance before and After the Medicaid14

2.6 Private Health Insurance in the European Union17

2.7 Private Health Insurance in the United States of America19

2.8 Summary of the Chapter29

2.9 Introduction to Chapter 329

CHAPTER 03: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY30

3. 1 Introduction30

3.2 Research Method30

3.3 Overview of the Quantitative Method30

3.4 Instrument for Data Collection31

3.5 Sample32

3.6 Validity32

3.7 Reliability33

3.8 Ethical Considerations33

3.9 Confidentiality35

3.10 Limitations of the Research35

3.11 Data Analysis36

3.13 Conclusion36

CHAPTER 04: DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS37

4.1 Introduction37

4.2 Questionnaire Analysis37

4.3 Chi Square Testing for Private Health Insurance50

4.4 Discussion50

4.4.1 Demands for Private Health Insurance in Europe and USA50

4.4.2 Importance of Private Health Insurance Demands in Europe and USA52

4.4.3 Costs and Comparative Results of USA and EU for Private Health Insurance53

4.5 Summary of Chapter 0454

CHAPTER 05: CONCLUSION55

5.1 Recommendations58

5.2 Recommendations for Future Research61

REFERENCES63

APPENDIX72

Questionnaire72

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

U.S. health care expenditures increased dramatically during the past two decades, growing from US$714 billion in 1990 to US$2.5 trillion in ...