Publication Details
Abstract
The quality of the health status of the citizens and other factors such as health costs are the pivots that propel the economy from under-development to industrialized ones. In view of this, many countries (of which our dear country, Nigeria, is not an exception) implement social intervention program in form of health insurance to help alleviate the cost of financing healthcare of their citizens. The focus of this study is on the variation in the estimates of average patients’ costs of medical treatment through health insurance techniques. It explores different decision making tools that can gear towards informed and quality healthcare system in Nigeria. The geographical scope of the study is limited to Nigerian situations. The major secondary data were got from the internet, articles, journals and other publications of health or health related organizations. The major analysis was done on the utilization payments obtained from one of the leading health maintenance organizations in Nigeria. In other to standardize this research work, the International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC) was used to categorize the ailments. Different models and probability distributions were employed and analysed by EasyFit Software to arrive at decision making parameters. Analysis carried out on healthcare costs helps decision making strategies on matters relating to effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare services in Nigeria.