Impact evaluation of subsidized health insurance programs on utilization of healthcare facilities: evidence from Indonesia

Despite subsidized health insurance has long been proclaimed by many countries including Indonesia, the variety of evaluation results showing that the optimization of benefits obtained by recipients is still questionable. The objective of this study is to analyze the impact of subsidized health insurance programs (ASKESKIN and JAMKESMAS) on the utilization of healthcare facilities in Indonesia. Data from two waves longitudinal data, the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS), were analyzed using the propensity score matching method. This study found that in general, ASKESKIN and JAMKESMAS had very small impacts on the utility of healthcare facilities measured by outpatient and inpatient visits by program's beneficiaries. It implies that being subsidized health insurance holders does not necessarily encourage them to visit formal healthcare facilities. In addition, the comparison of average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) between ASKESKIN and JAMKESMAS also did not show any significant improvement even though the program had tried to be improved. The results of this study provide the basis for advising policy makers that there needs to revisit the effectiveness of subsidized health insurance program implementation.