Policy Briefs
Achieving Health Insurance Coverage for Persons with Disabilities in Jordan: A Focus on Youth
No.
PB 88
Publisher
ERF
Date
August, 2022
Topic
I1. Health
In a nutshell
- 11.8% of Jordanian men and 10.6% of Jordanian women had some form of disability as of the 2015 Census, and 11.0% of non-Jordanian men and 10.6% of non-Jordanian women.
- The disability rate increased substantially with age, reaching over 30% of the population by age 60-64.
- The Survey of Young People in Jordan 2020/21 found higher rates of disability among the youth population than the Census, at 19.9% of youth aged 16-30. Disability rates were particularly high among Syrian youth.
- Among Jordanians, persons with disabilities were slightly less likely to have health insurance than the general population (67.2% vs. 68.7%).
- Among non-Jordanians, persons with disabilities were slightly more likely to have health insurance (27.7% vs. 25.1%), but coverage rates among non-Jordanians were very low overall.
- Youth have lower rates of health insurance coverage compared to other age groups.
- Disability status was not associated with health insurance coverage among Jordanian youth, but Syrian youth with disabilities were less likely to have health insurance than those without disabilities.
- Having a disabled member in the household was not associated with greater health expenditure.
- Overall, each additional household member with health insurance coverage was associated with a 6.8% decrease in monthly household health expenditure.
- Among households with a disabled member, there was indicative evidence that health expenditure is lower when the disabled member is health insured.
Authors
Maia Sieverding
Assistant Professor of Public Health Practice at...