National Health Insurance Role in Hospital Utilisation in Disadvantaged Areas: Evidence from Indonesia

BACKGROUND: The Indonesian government policy regarding obtaining universal coverage through National Health Insurance (NHI) is expected to increase public access to health service facilities, including in disadvantaged areas. This study analysed the role of NHI in hospital utilisation in underprivileged areas of Indonesia.

METHODS: Data from the 2023 National Socioeconomic Survey were used in this cross-sectional study that included 130,331 participants. Hospital utilisation was the dependent variable and NHI membership was the independent variable. Residence, age, sex, marital status, education, occupation, and wealth status were control factors. A multinomial logistic regression was employed in the final stage for data evaluation.

RESULTS: In 2023, the hospital utilisation rate in Indonesia's disadvantaged regions was 1.5% and the percentage of NHI members was 74.5%. People with an NHI membership were 3.01 times more likely to utilise the hospital than those without [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.58-3.50]. Seven control variables related to hospital utilisation were identified, namely, residence type, age, sex, marital status, education level, employment status, and wealth status.

CONCLUSION: This study concluded that NHI membership influenced hospital utilisation in disadvantaged areas of Indonesia. Individuals with NHI membership were three times more likely to visit hospitals.