Impact of health insurance services on morbidity of workers: the case of the national health insurance fund

This study examined the impact of the National Health Insurance Fund Services on the Morbidity of its members. The study aimed to examine the satisfaction of members on the services provided by the NHIF accredited health facilities and to assess the utilization of NHIF services by its members. Data on membership profile, quality of services provided by the NHIF were collected in a field survey conducted in Dar es Salaam. The main respondents were Government employees. Simple descriptive analysis was used to identify the relationship between socio demographic variables and the level of satisfaction as well as the utilization of the services provided. A p-value of 0.05 was used to test the level of significance. It was found that few variables had significant relationship. Despite the negative attitude which was built on the services provided by the fund the study revealed that about 51.7 percent of the respondents felt that NHIF had helped to reduce the rate of morbidity in the country. The majority of the respondents were satisfied with the services provided by the Fund also the study revealed that most respondents utilize the services at least 1-2 times per month. It was also observed that most respondents had no alternative health financing coverage and so they only depended on the services provided by NHIF. From these findings it is suggested that NHIF should improve the quality of services it offers and also should cover a large part of the population so as to reduce the rate of morbidity in the country.