Demand for private health insurance: an empirical study of post-communist countries.

The development of voluntary health insurance is characteristic of post-Communist and CEE countries. The aim of the paper is to identify the factors determining the demand for private voluntary health insurance. The main finding of the research is that the most important factor is the demographic factor. Other factors include the factor related to the ineffectiveness of treatment under universal health insurance, the factor related to health condition, the demographic factor related to longevity, and the factor related to insurance awareness and income. The research confirms conclusions from previously published studies. The most important is to confirm that the income factor positively influences the studied phenomenon. However, the results shed new light on the aspect of the demand factor, as this indicates the ageing of society and the consequent increase in private spending on health, which are the key mechanisms in the discussion, with the other factors constituting a complementary element. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]