Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2003 Dec;93(12):2124-30.
doi: 10.2105/ajph.93.12.2124.

Winners and losers: expansion of insurance coverage in Russia in the 1990s

Dina C Balabanova  1 , Jane Falkingham, Martin McKee
Affiliations

Winners and losers: expansion of insurance coverage in Russia in the 1990s

Dina C Balabanova et al. Am J Public Health. 2003 Dec.

Abstract

Objectives: This study sought to describe the evolution of the Russian compulsory health insurance system and to identify factors associated with noncoverage.

Methods: Data from successive waves of the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (1992-2000) were analyzed.

Results: Insurance coverage grew rapidly throughout the 1990s, although 11.8% of the country's citizens were still uninsured by 2000. Coverage initiation rates were greater at first among citizens who were better off, but this gap closed over the study period. Among individuals of working age, coverage rates diminished with age and were lower for the unemployed, for the self-employed, and for those residing outside Moscow or St. Petersburg.

Conclusions: The growth of insurance coverage in Russia slowed toward the end of the 1990s, and gaps remain. Achievement of universal coverage will require new, targeted policies.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
Trends in insurance coverage, by expenditure quintile: Russia, 1992–2000.
FIGURE 2—
FIGURE 2—
Trends in insurance coverage among people of working age, by employment status: Russia, 1992–2000.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Field MG. Reflections on a painful transition: from socialized to insurance medicine in Russia. Croat Med J. 1999;40:202–209. - PubMed
    1. Shishkin S. Problems of transition from a tax-based system of health care finance to a mandatory health insurance model in Russia. Croat Med J. 1999;40:195–201. - PubMed
    1. Sishkin SV. The role of health insurance companies in management of the system of compulsory health insurance and organisation of health services. Available at: http://www.publichealth.ru/doc.php?cat=23&did=17. Accessed May 27, 2003.
    1. Reshetnikov AV. Sotsial’nye problemy obiazatel’nogo meditsinskogo strakhovaniia. Med Tr Prom Ekol. 2000;10:25–27. - PubMed
    1. Twigg J. Balancing the state and the market: Russia’s adoption of obligatory medical insurance. Europe Asia Stud. 1998;50:583–602.

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources