Authors: Research Scholar Merin Titty D Cunha, Assistant Professor Dr. Jisha S Kumar
Abstract: Health insurance is becoming more accepted as an important way to ensure everyone has access to healthcare, lower the risk of spending too much on health issues, and help build better, lasting healthcare systems.Even though there are many public and private health insurance options in India, there are still big differences in how well people know about these schemes and how often they use them, especially in rural areas.This study looks at how aware people are of health insurance, how often they use it, and how their views on risk affect whether they get insurance in Kerala.The research gathered information from 50 rural families in Annallur Village, Thrissur District, through a detailed survey.The study uses Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to understand the links between awareness of health insurance, how people see risk, and how much they use insurance. The results show that people have a moderate level of awareness, but a large number of households are not insured. The study found that seeing health risks as a real concern helps people decide to buy insurance. It emphasizes the need for better awareness, financial knowledge, and focused policies to increase insurance use. These findings add to the growing body of knowledge on health insurance adoption and offer useful guidance for policymakers, insurance providers, and public health leaders working to make healthcare more affordable and sustainable in Kerala.
