Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34927225›Full record

ArticleApplied health economics and health policy2022

Willingness to Pay for National Health Insurance: A Contingent Valuation Study Among Patients Visiting Public Hospitals in Melaka, Malaysia.

Robin Tiow Heng Tan, Siti Zaleha Abdul Rasid, Wan Khairuzzaman Wan Ismail, Janiza Tobechan, Edwin Tiow Yong Tan, Alia Natasha Yusof, Jia Hui Low

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Article in Applied health economics and health policy, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Robin Tiow Heng TanPharmaceutical Services Division, Melaka State Health Department, Ministry of Health, Melaka, Malaysia. robintan1632@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3709-0620
Siti Zaleha Abdul RasidAzman Hashim International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Wan Khairuzzaman Wan IsmailSulaiman AlRajhi School of Business, Sulaiman AlRajhi University, Al Bukayriyah, Saudi Arabia.
Janiza TobechanMelaka General Hospital, Ministry of Health, Melaka, Malaysia.
Edwin Tiow Yong TanBukit Katil Clinic, Melaka, Malaysia.
Alia Natasha YusofAlor Gajah Hospital, Ministry of Health, Melaka, Malaysia.
Jia Hui LowJasin Hospital, Ministry of Health, Melaka, Malaysia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe Malaysian public healthcare system is tax funded, with healthcare costs highly subsidized by the Government. The current health financing is not sustainable to cover all the healthcare resources. Introducing a national health insurance (NHI), a prepayment method, would protect the population from financial hardship by reducing out-of-pocket payment, minimizing the barrier to accessing health and achieving equitable healthcare. Studies on the willingness to pay (WTP) for NHI are available in different contexts; however, little was found in Malaysia. In addition, factors affecting the WTP for NHI have been less researched in the Malaysian context.

objectiveThis study investigates the WTP for NHI and factors influencing it in Melaka, Malaysia.

methodUsing the contingent valuation method, the researchers distributed a pre-tested self-administered questionnaire to 489 respondents in three leading public hospitals from 1 to 9 November 2019. Multi-stage sampling forms the selection of respondents. Respondents were presented with a hypothetical scenario on NHI and asked whether they would be willing to pay for NHI. Chi-square was used to examine the association between categorical independent variables and WTP for NHI, and binary logistic regression was applied to determine the variables with the most predictive effect towards WTP for NHI.

resultsOut of 462 usable responses, 344 respondents (74.5%) were willing to pay for NHI. The majority (51.3%) of the respondents were willing to pay 15 Malaysian Ringgit (3.70 US dollars) or more for the NHI scheme. Chi-square analysis revealed that age, marital status, education level, employment status, chronic diseases, and perception towards NHI were significantly associated with WTP for NHI. Binary regression analysis found that marital status and perception towards NHI have the most predictive effect on respondents' WTP for NHI.

conclusionThis study revealed that the majority of the respondents are willing to pay for NHI if implemented in Malaysia. The findings lay a foundation for implementing a future NHI framework in Malaysia and reference future health financing research.

Indexed as

Financing, PersonalNational Health ProgramsCross-Sectional StudiesHospitals, PublicHumansMalaysiaSurveys and Questionnaires

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.