Health Insurance Uptake and Affordability of Care Among Patients with Hypertension in a Federal Teaching Hospital in Southwestern Nigeria

This study aims to assess health insurance uptake and affordability of care among patients with hypertension in a Federal Teaching Hospital in Southwestern Nigeria. This was a cross sectional study involving 138 hypertensive patient selected through systematic random sampling technique from the cardiology clinic of a Federal Teaching Hospital. A semi-structured, interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. A significance level of 5% was used. The mean age (standard deviation) of the patients was 57.4 (12.8) years with median (interquartile range) monthly income of ₦46,500.00 (₦55,000.00) [US$129 (US$152.78)]. The health insurance uptake among them was 26.8%. Out of those who had no health insurance cover, 87.2% of them believed it could make their financial burden less and wish to be registered. Hypertensive patients enrolled under health insurance were significantly less likely to face financial difficulty when paying for drugs (p<0.001) and investigations (p<0.001). Additionally, these patients were significantly less likely to deny or defer project(s) in order to pay for their illness (p=0.004) and to have their source of livelihood being negatively affected by this illness (p=0.002). This study found a low health insurance uptake among hypertensive patients, even though most of the patients who had no health insurance cover were ready to enroll. Additionally, health insurance was identified to promote affordability of care among these patients. It is therefore crucial to put in place measures that will increase health insurance coverage among these patients.