Impact of Health Insurance on Health Care Treatment and Cost in Vietnam: A Health Capability Approach to Financial Protection

We applied an alternative conceptual framework for analyzing health insurance and financial protection grounded in the health capability paradigm. Through an original survey of 706 households in Dai Dong, Vietnam, we examined the impact of Vietnamese health insurance schemes on inpatient and outpatient health care access, costs, and health outcomes using bivariate and multivariable regression analyses. Insured respondents had lower outpatient and inpatient treatment costs and longer hospital stays but fewer days of missed work or school than the uninsured. Insurance reform reduced household vulnerability to high health care costs through direct reduction of medical costs and indirect reduction of income lost to illness. However, from a normative perspective, out-of-pocket costs are still too high, and accessibility issues persist; a comprehensive insurance package and additional health system reforms are needed.