The Challenges of Universal Health Insurance in Developing Countries: Experimental Evidence from Indonesia’s National Health Insurance

To investigate barriers to universal health insurance in developing countries, we designed a randomized experiment involving about 6,000 households Indonesia who are subject government program with weakly enforced mandate. Time-limited subsidies increased enrollment and attracted lower-cost enrollees, part by reducing the strategic timing of correspond needs. Registration assistance also enrollment, but attempted much more, as over one-half enroll did not successfully do so. These findings underscore how weak administrative capacity can create important challenges countries for achieving widespread coverage. (JEL D82, G22, H51, I13, I18, O15)