Factors affecting demand for individual health insurance in Malaysia

Background Private health insurance is one of the sources of funds for financing health care apart from direct taxes, public insurance and out of pocket payments. Regardless of the choice between a social and private insurance, health insurance ownership has been linked with lower OOP. Thus, health insurance as a type of health care financing, no doubt, will be one of the financing mechanisms in the health care financing model. As such, understanding the individual decision making towards health insurance is imperative. This paper analyses the factors that affect the individual demand for private health insurance in Malaysia.