Open AccessThe population of Saudi Arabia's willingness to pay for improved level of access to healthcare services: A contingent valuation study
Author(s) -
Al Mustanyir Salem,
Turner Brian,
Mulcahy Mark
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
health science reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.462
H-Index - 7
ISSN - 2398-8835
DOI - 10.1002/hsr2.577
Subject(s) - willingness to pay , business , health care , payment , population , valuation (finance) , marital status , christian ministry , government (linguistics) , economic growth , environmental health , medicine , finance , economics , political science , linguistics , philosophy , law , microeconomics
Abstract Background and aims The Saudi Ministry of Health budget has surged since 2006 to put a strain on government finances at a time when the economy slowed as a result of plummeting oil prices. This study investigated the population of Saudi Arabia's willingness to pay for the healthcare services that are currently provided for free by the Saudi Ministry of Health, in return for improving their level of access. Methods Questionnaires were used to collect data from 600 individuals in the Riyadh region. The data were elicited using payment scale format and a two‐part model was employed for data analyses. Results The empirical analyses showed that the majority of the sample were willing to pay and found nine factors influenced people's willingness to pay—age, gender, education, employment status, nationality, marital status, current eligibility for healthcare services, possession of private health insurance, and having a chronic disease. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that policymakers in Saudi Arabia could reduce the burden on the Ministry of Health budget, while enabling people to improve their access to healthcare services. They might be of use to policymakers to help with fund allocation and priority setting.