Objective: To measure the demand for health insurance policy with special focus on maternity services among working women.
Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted in Lahore, Pakistan, from October 15 to November 15, 2018, after approval from the Punjab Economic Research Institute, and comprised public and private school teachers of reproductive age. The primary data was collected using a structured questionnaire. Logit model was used to determine the factors affecting the interest level in maternal health insurance.
Results: Of the 110 teachers, 54 (49 %) were from private schools and 56 (51%) from public schools. The overall age range was 21-49 years, with 64 (58%) aged 31-40 years. Also, 79 (72%) teachers had completed 16 years of education. Of the total, 63 (57%) respondents were willing to buy maternal health insurance. Income, age, awareness and the type of preceding delivery were important determinants of the willingness to pay for maternal health insurance.
Conclusion: Providing full insurance coverage during maternity was expected to give financial relief and to also ensure better health conditions of the teachers on re-joining the work.
Keywords: Maternal health insurance, Female teachers, Logistic regression, Willingness to pay..