Poor households need to overcome two fundamental challenges when faced with a health emergency. The first challenge is securing financial resources: Poor households have access to limited financial resources to pay for the necessary treatment due to low personal savings and poor access to risk mitigation mechanisms such as loans and health insurance. The second challenge is accessing information where they can obtain quality healthcare. While access to health care has improved in many low income countries, improvements in the quality of care are less remarkable.

Can micro health insurance overcome these two fundamental challenges? It is fairly clear how micro health insurance can protect a household’s financial exposure. What is less clear is how insurance can address informational asymmetries regarding the quality of care. We investigate this relationship through this study.

Our approach includes qualitative analysis of existing schemes along with a review of scientific literature and institutional case studies. We will supplement our research with interviews and focus group discussions with practitioners, academics, donors, policy makers, and clients.