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№2 (31) / 2026 Full issue

Release Date 25.05.2026

 FROM THEORY TO ECONOMIC POLICY

 

 

 

Shestakova Elena

PhD (economics), Leading Researcher

Institute of Economics, Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow)

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https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8963-6301

 

IS VOLUNTARY HEALTH INSURANCE A PROMISING DEVELOPMENT OR A DEAD END?

Размер файла99-113
Размер файла 377 KB
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The article analyzes different approaches to defining the role of voluntary health insurance in the healthcare financing system in the context of increased government influence on the overall level of social spending and limited opportunities for maneuvering. The practice of various groups of countries demonstrates a wide range of views on this issue: from the actual rejection of support for voluntary health insurance to the recognition of it as an important source of funds, along with budgetary and social insurance financing, and a useful tool for achieving a wide range of socio-economic objections.  States with medium levels of development are the most interested in developing this mechanism for medical services. The article focuses on the discussion of the relationship between voluntary health insurance and different co-payment schemes for medical services.

 

Keywords: voluntary health insurance, co-payments, out-of-pocket payments, moral hazard, negative selection

JEL: I13

UDC: 614.2

DOI: 10.52342/2587-7666VTE_2026_2_99_113

 

© E. Shestakova, 2026

© Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences «Issues of Theoretical Economics», 2026

  

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Manuscript submission date: 25.02.2026

Manuscript acceptance date: 09.04.2026

 

For citation: Shestakova E. Is Voluntary Health Insurance a Promising Development or a Dead End? // Voprosy teoreticheskoy ekonomiki. 2026. No. 2. Pp. 99–113. DOI: 10.52342/2587-7666VTE_2026_2_99_113.