The impact of health insurance privatisation on risk absorption
The impact of health insurance privatisation on risk absorption

Summary/Abstract: The privatisation reform introducing new methods of collecting and distributing financial resources is a possible source of growing public distrust in the health care system. Patients’ trust in their physicians could become less secure and health institutions could be viewed with diminishing confidence. The author analyses the level of trust among five groups of health service users by their inclusion in compulsory or voluntary insurance, awarness of their rights and other features of health system, their opinion regarding the accessibility of quality health services, possible consequences of the reduction of compulsory insurance rights, modes of payment for health services and their sense of security associated with the current system of health insurance. The findings confirm our hypothesis that the privatisation of health insurance system generates growing distrust into the health care system among the population. But for now the extent of a risk and uncertainty is still relatively low. Although differences between five groups of respondents are not marked, the following differention is very clear: the group of patients paying for health care services out of their pocket are in the most insecure situation; they participate in health care funds to the same extent as others, but are not in the position to assert their rights because their health difficulties are exluded from the insurance system. On the other hand, the users of the concession-holder services represent the most satisfied group in this sample having a fairly strong feeling of security.

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