Impact assessment of the PMJAY Public Health Insurance Scheme in India

On behalf of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), a consortium of Heidelberg Institute of Global Health (University of Heidelberg), the Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) and City University of London, is in charge of conducting the impact assessment of the PMJAY Health Insurance Scheme in India. PMJAY is expected to become the biggest health insurance of the world including 500 million households. The project team employs a mixed methods design that includes quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Project Lead:

Manuela De Allegri (Heidelberg University)
Divya Parmar (City University London)

Project Team:
Christoph Strupat

Financing:
Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)

Time frame:
2019 - 2021 / completed

Co-operation Partner:

Heidelberg Institute of Global Health (University of Heidelberg), City University of London

Project description

End of 2018 the government of India launched a new and countrywide health insurance scheme, Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana Abhiyan (PMJAY). PMJAY is expected to become the biggest health insurance of the world including 500 million households and consolidates gains made by the countrywide RSBY health insurance scheme. On behalf of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), a consortium of Heidelberg Institute of Global Health (University of Heidelberg), the Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) and City University of London, is in charge of conducting the impact assessment of PMJAY. The project includes four components that stretch from completing a systematic scoping review of existing literature on insurance schemes in the region to rigoruous estimate the impacts of PMJAY on both supply-side and demand-side factors. It will include a quantitative household survey covering 14,000 households, a hospital survey and a qualitative survey including focus group discussions and expert interviews in 7 states. Main aim of the project is to provide  accompanying  research and support to the insurance providers. Furthermore, the impact assessment will examine if eligible households benefit from the new scheme by improved access to health care, better quality of health care, lower health expenditures and less risk to become poor due to health shocks.

Publications