Journal of Health & Medical Economics

Evaluating the Extent of Health Insurance Knowledge and it’s Associated Factors among the Insured Population in Saudi Arabia

Background: The extent of health insurance literacy among the population plays a significant role in their decision to postpone or even avoid seeking medical treatment due to financial concerns. Despite its significance, most individuals lack adequate knowledge of their health insurance policy. Thus, the of this study is to assess the level of health insurance knowledge among adults with health insurance in Saudi Arabia and to examine potential associations between health insurance knowledge and socio demographic and other related factors.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional design study by recruiting a sample of 385 insured adults. Participants were mostly Saudi nationals (91%), between 18 and 40 years old (87%), two-thirds were male, half had a bachelor's degree and half were single. In order to assess potential relationships, a multiple regression analysis was conducted following the verification of test assumptions.

Results: The findings indicated that the participants exhibit a moderate level of knowledge regarding health insurance (M=28.9, SD=5.4), with substantial differences observed in their comprehension of certain aspects of their health insurance policy. Additionally, we found a significant correlation between participants' level of health insurance knowledge and their marital status, sources of health insurance information and duration of health insurance coverage.

Conclusion: In general, despite several years of implementing health insurance coverage in Saudi Arabia, knowledge of health insurance remains below the desired level. We believe the findings of this research will contribute to a greater understanding of health insurance, as it plays a crucial role in the affordability and accessibility of healthcare in Saudi Arabia.

Author(s): Ali Owaydhah Alessa and Salah Alshagrawi

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