Abstract

To cope with the potentially high costs of medical care, insurance policies provide some financial protection. This report has attempted to discuss the vital scenario in healthcare and health insurance market in the world and also Bangladesh. A brief about global insurance industry in, Bangladesh insurance industry and health insurance industry overview are discussed. Growth drivers and issues of the industry are also covered.  The report will be useful for insurance companies (both Bangladesh and global), other Intermediaries associated with the industry, industry analysts, and students in the field of insurance.

Key Terms: Clinical trial, Health care provider, Out-of-pocket maximums, Availability, Renewability, Premium, Deductible, Copayment, Coinsurance, Exclusions, Coverage, limits, Portability.

INTRONUCTION

Health Insurance means, the insurance against expenses incurred through illness of the insured. In popular usage, any insurance plan that covers medical expenses or health care services, including HMOs, insured plans, preferred provider organizations, etc. In insurance, protection against loss by sickness or bodily injury, in which sense it is synonymous with accident and health, accident and sickness, accident, or disability income insurance. Health insurance is insurance that pays for all or part of a person's health care bills. System for the advance financing of medical expenses through contributions or taxes paid into a common fund to pay for all or part of health services specified in an insurance policy or law. The key elements are advance payment of premiums or taxes, pooling of funds, and eligibility for benefits on the basis of contributions or employment without an income or assets test. Health insurance may apply to a limited or comprehensive range of medical services and may provide for full or partial payment of the costs of specific services. Benefits may consist of the right to certain medical services or reimbursement of the insured for specified medical costs. Private health insurance is organized and administered by an insurance company or other private agency; public health insurance is run by the government. Both forms of health insurance are to be distinguished from socialized medicine and government medical-care programs, in which doctors are employed directly or indirectly by the government, which also owns the health-care facilities

Health insurance is a is a form of group insurance , where individuals pay premiums or taxes in order to help protect themselves from high or unexpected healthcare expenses. Health insurance works by estimating the overall "risk" of healthcare expenses and developing a routine finance structure (such as a monthly premium, or annual tax) that will ensure that money is available to pay for the healthcare benefits specified in the insurance agreement. The healthcare benefit is administered by a central organization, which is most often either a government agency, or a private or not-for-profit entity operating a health care.

Review of the Literature

Review of the literature is helpful to find out the research work and reports with relevant to the proposed research and report topic. It aims to instruct in designing the future research problem and examining the validity of new findings. A good number of researches have been done on entrepreneurship development. A few studies have already been conducted regarding the topic which has given below:

·         Md. Lutfor Rahaman and Haripada Bhattacharjee published a journal named Health Insurance : Theories and evidence with specific reference to Bangladesh in 1999.

·         Health Insurance for small employers and their employees 2008, published by State of Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance P.O. Box 7873 Madison, WI 3707-7873 oci.wi.gov.

·         Carmen DeNavas. Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, Robert J, Mills worked on Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in USA. Which is issued at August 2004.

Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this study is to pin-point the Health Insurance and relevant issues which related with the Health Insurance. In the light of this main objective and the research problem cited above, the specific objectives of the study have been earmarked as follows:

·         To bring to focus on Health Insurance.

·         To examine the practices of Health Insurance in Bangladesh.

·         To identify the the present scenario of Health Insurance Organization.

·         To know about some theories of health insurance.

Methodology of the Study

The main feature of the present study is the extensive use of secondary data relevant to Health Insurance. In order to get the requisite secondary data, several website browsing was done in the light of the objectives of the study. The relevant and supporting secondary data were also collected through desk study in order to present the fact in a logical format. The desk study covered textbooks, research articles, research monographs and various published & unpublished materials on the subject. The data and information, thus collected were processed and analyzed in order to make the study more attractive, useful and informative to the readers. Some tables and graphical presentation were used in the study. Factors indicating growth of entrepreneurs with reference to weighted scores rated departmental shops. The analysis of findings are made under the following main captions keeping in mind the objectives of the study.

Limitation of the Study

This study involves a number of problem and short comings during the conduct of the study which are given below:

·         Lack of proper secondary information that is very essential to prepare the report.

·         Vast scope and descriptive nature of study

·         These types of research need a huge amount of fund. But the researcher has a fund problem to accomplish such study

·         Previous research papers related this type of research is not available.

·         The interviewer were reluctant to produce the financial data

Research Gap

The literatures reviewed above clearly indicate that the professionals and researchers pay comparatively little concentration to the study upon health insurance. The Health insurance is not mostly practices in our country. Though Health Insurance helps us in the time of accident, injury, etc. and also accelerates the economic growth of our country. Bangladesh does not appear to have much attention too to the studies on such issues. Therefore, no sophisticated research paper or research monograph is available to the researchers.

Rationale of the Study

Health insurance is important not only for the global but also for the community of the people of Bangladesh. Health insurance companies and new players entering healthcare market with improved healthcare infrastructure across the world motivating a larger section of population for better healthcare services through various healthcare insurance policies. But yet It is not a common insurance product for both company and customer. However Health insurance is insurance that pays for all or part of a person's health care bills. Such type of study has significance in the present context. It helps to know the present situation of health insurance in global market as well as the importance, rules, theories etc. So the issue of the health insurance in the context of both Bangladesh and global needs to be carefully analyzed.