Thsehla Evelyn, Hongoro Charles, Miot Jacqui, Kgasi Kate, Marinda Edmore, Maramba Esnath, Chabi Alister, Childs Barry, Modupe Olurotimi, Alaba Olufunke
South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)/WITS: Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science, Wits School of Public Health, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Sustainable Human Security (SHS), Developmental, Capable and Ethical State Division, Human Sciences Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa.
Health Serv Insights. 2024 Sep 11;17:11786329241274479. doi: 10.1177/11786329241274479. eCollection 2024.
The cost of healthcare is an issue of concern for both consumers and funders of healthcare in South Africa. The country spends approximately 8% of GDP on health care. Health care is financed through the public sector which covers 86% of the population and the private sector which covers 14% of the population. Medical schemes are the main source of healthcare financing in the private sector. Services covered by medical schemes include chronic diseases, emergencies, diagnosis, and treatment of a selected number of diseases. Primary health care services such as screening are limited. The aim of this study was to assess factors associated with members of medical schemes' willingness to pay for a primary health care package in the private sector. A cross-sectional survey was conducted amongst principal members of medical schemes between July and September 2020. All principal members with access to an online questionnaire were eligible to participate in this study. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with willingness to pay for primary health care services. A total of 6512 members of medical schemes participated in the study. Thirty-five percent of the participants were willing to pay for the primary health care package. Factors influencing willingness to pay included marital status, employment status, income and household size. The study highlights the need for policymakers to consider socioeconomic factors when designing health care policies.
医疗保健成本是南非医疗保健消费者和资助者都关心的问题。该国在医疗保健方面的支出约占国内生产总值的8%。医疗保健通过覆盖86%人口的公共部门和覆盖14%人口的私营部门提供资金。医疗计划是私营部门医疗保健融资的主要来源。医疗计划涵盖的服务包括慢性病、紧急情况、诊断以及特定数量疾病的治疗。诸如筛查等初级卫生保健服务有限。本研究的目的是评估与医疗计划成员为私营部门的初级卫生保健套餐付费意愿相关的因素。2020年7月至9月期间，对医疗计划的主要成员进行了一项横断面调查。所有能够访问在线问卷的主要成员都有资格参与本研究。使用逻辑回归来确定与为初级卫生保健服务付费意愿相关的因素。共有6512名医疗计划成员参与了该研究。35%的参与者愿意为初级卫生保健套餐付费。影响付费意愿的因素包括婚姻状况、就业状况、收入和家庭规模。该研究强调政策制定者在设计医疗保健政策时需要考虑社会经济因素。
