Abstract

Background: Health is a human right. In order to achieve Universal Health Coverage and to bridge the gap between the community and the provision of quality health care, there is a need to improve the financial protection for health. Health insurance is a promising way for improving health by reducing health expenditure and providing financial protection Objectives: Assessment of awareness about health Insurance schemes, assessment of coverage of health insurance schemes and the factors influencing the subscription and utilization of Insurance Schemes. Materials and Methods: A community based cross sectional study was conducted in the RHTC Irkalagad, a field practice area of Department of Community Medicine, KIMS Koppal during February and March 2020 among 500 individuals aged 18years and above using predesigned semi-structured questionnaire. Results: Out of 500 individuals, 59% of the participants were aware of health insurance, the awareness about health insurance was significantly associated with gender and socio-economic status. Only 29% of the participants were subscribed to health insurance and 6.8% of those insured availed the benefits. Majority(78.5%) of the participants reported lack of awareness was the reason for nonsubscription to health insurance.