2.12. An overview of literature review
The entitled chapter is detailed with views from different
authors related to the research under study. Mutual health insurance is an
insurance policy which covers the future healthcare costs by providing the
necessary healthcare relatively more affordable and thus more available to all
«Pooling» health risks and these does not need to be done through
commercial insurance markets. The function of insurance is to provide
protection to individuals against financial loss. (Jutting, J, 2003:132).
Economic development refers to social and technological changes. Economic
development typically involves improvements in a variety of indicators such as
literacy rates, life expectancy, and poverty rates.
A country's economic development is related to its human
development, which encompasses, among other things, health and education
(Ibrahim, 1998:2). This chapter also addresses the conceptual understanding of
research literature on CBHI in Rwanda and mutual health insurance in general,
definition of key concepts, the requirements for economic development,
community health insurance schemes in Rwanda, the interventions on the
policy of health insurance, current problems of mutual health insurance schemes
in Rwanda, global overview of Rwanda health insurance schemes, principal
objectives of insurance schemes, organization and management of mutual health
insurance schemes in Rwanda, HIWTP, challenges of health insurance schemes in
Africa .
Through this information gathered from different author's
works, the researcher clearly understood the research objectives and research
questions and this understanding helped me to set up the questionnaire which is
helpful to answer the research questions and to meet the specific objectives of
the study. For instance reading through Lucas et al` s work, he asserted that
while living is expensive, illness is more so thus sound financial investment
should offer preventive and promotive health activities to an individual and to
the society at large.( Lucas et al. 1999:76). From the writer's point of view
of sound financial policy for public healthcare, therefore must be taken into
consideration not only for humanitarian and social gains but also some economic
advantages should be delivered there from.
Public health is one of the best forms of social and economic
insurance, different studies which were undertaken by various scholars have
demonstrated that without coercive powers of the state, and pressure groups,
the sound of community health insurance would prove futile. (PRS annual
progress report 2003-2004:56).
From the information gathered above from other authors' views
related with this research topic entitled «The contribution of rwandan
health insurance in the economic development of rwanda» the researcher
come with a very clear understanding on this research topic. Most of
suggestions from this secondary data, it was shown that the writers emphasized
on the reduction of healthcare costs through risk pooling and shared among
healthy beneficiaries and those fallen sick whom are not able to pay their
healthcare bills. However this cannot guarantee a hundred percent of these
costs and beneficiaries still claiming that healthcare services are high since
the policy does not cover all health services costs.
Therefore, the investment in new venture and good management
of these MHI contributions should raise the geographical coverage where the
beneficiaries of this policy are always saying that there are some services
that are not offered to them under pretext that collected contributions are not
enough to cover all healthcare costs. This investment will be used generating
the income which can be used to support beneficiaries' annual contributions.
Hence one day health insurance contributions should be kept at the minimum even
cancelled because of these investments which are profitable and make more money
for the beneficiaries' gains.
Mutual health insurance's service packages increases and
covers all healthcare costs whenever the person falls sick. This improves
beneficiaries' behavior on this policy in relation with their contributions.
The successful implementation of this policy is justified by the let go at each
and every health centre or hospital without a barrier of limited contribution
because the invested proportions of MHI contributions support their
contributions.
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