Impact Evaluation of Health Microinsurance through Randomized Controlled Trials: Two Interventions Targeting Renewal Rates & Health Outcomes
This paper discusses the use of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the impact of health microinsurance and allied services on low income households. It presents case studies of impact assessment of two health microinsurance projects in India, namely, Calcutta Kids and CARE Foundation, by the Centre of Insurance and Risk Management (CIRM).
Calcutta Kids is an NGO with the mandate of making quality health care affordable and accessible through trained community health workers. CARE Foundation is involved in healthcare research and education and has a network of 11 hospitals in 5 Indian states. The paper describes the following aspects of impact evaluation using RCT with respect to each project:
- Hypothesis, rationale and description of the project;
- Learning agenda and research methodology;
- Current status of research program;
- Challenges in implementation of RCT;
- Expected outcome of evaluation.
The primary objective of the paper is to describe techniques for designing the randomization plan to assess the impact of health microinsurance programs.
