Publication: An Evaluation of the Initial Impact of the Medical Assistance Program for the Poor in Georgia
Date
2008-04
ISSN
Published
2008-04
Author(s)
Abstract
As part of the recent health reform
effort, the government of Georgia launched a Medical
Assistance Program in June 2006 to provide health insurance
to its poor population. So far the program covers slightly
over 50 percent of the poor and provides benefit coverage
for outpatient and inpatient care. This paper estimates
initial impact of the Medical Assistance Program and
assesses whether the benefits have reached the poorest among
those eligible, using utilization data from June 2006 to
December 2006. Based on the analysis using a regression
discontinuity design and a three-part model, the paper
presents two main findings. First, the Medical Assistance
Program has significantly increased utilization of acute
surgeries/inpatient services by the poor. Second, the
benefits have successfully reached the poorest among the
poor. These two findings indicate that government efforts
to improve the poor's access to and utilization of
health services are yielding results. The paper emphasizes
that the initial dramatic increase in surgeries must be
interpreted with caution, given the possible
misclassification or misreporting of acute surgeries in the
data. The paper also stresses the need to continue
monitoring implementation of the Medical Assistance Program
and further improve program design, particularly the
targeting mechanism, to achieve better efficiency,
effectiveness and overall equity in access to health care services.
Citation
“Hou, Xiaohui; Chao, Shiyan. 2008. An Evaluation of the Initial Impact of the Medical Assistance Program for the Poor in Georgia. Policy Research Working Paper; No. 4588. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/cebaad6b-d8e9-5513-9fbb-f0a50699e9cc License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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