Awareness of Health Insurance among the Patients Seeking Care at a Tertiary Care Dental Hospital in Northern India Vakil Nishu1, Singh Abhishek2, Jindal Rajnish3, Rathinam Rajesh Duraisamy4, Kaur Balbir5, Chikkara Pankaj6 1Resident, Department of Periodontology and Implantology, Maharishi Markandeshwar Institute of Dental Sciences, Mullana, Haryana 2Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati Govt. Medical College, Haryana 3Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Adesh Institute of Dental Sciences And Research, Bathinda, Punjab 4Assistant Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, Indira Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Puducherry 5Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, Maharishi Markandeshwar Institute of Medical Sciences, Mullana 6Assistant Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak Online published on 10 February, 2015. Abstract Background Even after more than 60 years of independence, inequalities in access to health care is widely prevalent in Indian communities. As per NFHS-3 only 5% household are covered under any health scheme or insurance. Objectives Therefore present study was planned to conduct with an objective to assess the awareness of health insurance among the patients seeking care at a tertiary care dental hospital in northern India. Methods The present cross-sectional survey was conducted by the Department of Public Health Dentistry of Adesh Institute of Dental Sciences And Research from March 2013 to August 2013. 422 patients seeking care at various outpatient departments (OPDs) of the institute formed the study population. Results Overall 37.4% of the study subjects were aware about health insurance, while remaining 62.6% had no idea about it. Gender wise males were more aware than females (55.5% Vs 44.5%). Participants belonging to higher socioeconomic class were more aware (81.9%) compared to those of lower class. A good number of respondents believed that health insurance is for tax gain (39.1%) & coverage of medical expenses (29.1%). Interestingly, almost 11% of study subjects took health insurance because of pressure from employer. 78.9% believed in insurance provided by governmental health agencies rather than services of private insurance agencies. Relatives/friends were the most common (66.8%) source of information about health insurance. Conclusion This study highlights lower levels of awareness about health insurance among study subjects. The data generated can be of practical use for hospital administrators to become aware of the current status of health insurance awareness among patients seeking care at the institution and take the necessary steps to make them aware of the same to meet the ever rising medical expenses in view of unpredictable illness and injuries. Top Keywords Awareness, Health Insurance, Dental, Hospital. Top |