Gauging Affluence or Gender: Impact of Health Insurance on Child Stunting in India

Rinju -, Student at Tata Institute of Social Sciences
Rimon Saha, Assistant Professor

While health insurance coverage currently extends to only a quarter of India’s population, there has been a consistent increase in coverage over recent decades. India has implemented several health insurance policies on a large scale during this time, some of which were offered at minimal or no cost to individuals. However, there remains a lack of substantial evidence on the impact of these policies on child stunting. Our research investigates the relationship between health insurance and child stunting in India, utilizing data from the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-20). Through comparative analysis and propensity score matching techniques, we find that health insurance significantly reduces stunting prevalence among economically disadvantaged children, with no discernible impact among affluent households. Moreover, a gender-specific pattern emerges within economically disadvantaged families: insured households with female children show a significantly lower prevalence of stunting compared to uninsured households, while this difference is not observed for households with male children. Conversely, among non-poor households, health insurance does not significantly influence stunting prevalence for either male or female children. This suggests that not availing of health insurance means missing out on the chance to ensure proper nutrition for females in impoverished households, who could otherwise benefit.

Keywords: Children, Adolescents, and Youth, Inequality, Disadvantage and Discrimination, Health and Morbidity, Families, Unions and Households

See extended abstract.