MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Health Insurer Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP) Boosts Client Retention With Discounted Outpatient Services, Also to Launch Cashless Health Delivery With Swasth India

Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP), an education and development organization based in Mumbai, India, has found that offering discounted outpatient services to health insurance clients is linked with customer retention. SSP offers inpatient discounts of 50 percent on consultation fees from several local physicians and discounts on medicines of between 40 percent and 70 percent. Those patients who used the discount outpatient services renewed at a rate of 45 percent, whereas those who did not utilize them renewed at a rate of 15 percent [1].

In other news, SSP and Swasth India Services Private Limited, a social business working to improve the health of poor people in urban and rural areas of India, have partnered to launch a Community Health Fund. The fund will offer a health product that includes health insurance for inpatient care and cashless delivery. It will also offer an outpatient aspect to be delivered via a network of local physicians, diagnostic centers and drug dispensing units, coordinated by community health workers. The project will last for a minimum of three years. No financial information on the project is available [2].

About Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP)
Swayam Shikshan Prayog is an education and development organization established in 1993 and based in Mumbai, India. SSP offers capacity building, sustainable living, income and health-enhancing opportunities to women and youth in urban and rural communities. SSP’s services include microloans, health insurance and health advocacy, disaster preparedness and two emerging initiatives, renewable energy and agriculture and food security. SSP does not report to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange.

About Swasth India Services Private Limited
Swasth India Services Private Limited is a social business working towards improving the health of low-income segments in urban and rural India. Swasth India’s mission is “to ensure access to affordable and quality health services to 15 million low-income people by 2015.” Through its charitable arm, Swasth Foundation, Swasth India is working as part of the United States Agency for International Development’s Health Systems 20/20 programme, which aims to improve access to and utilization of insurance and primary and secondary health services provided by the government of the Indian state of Delhi.

By Charlotte Newman, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources:

[1] Microfinance Focus: “Retaining Health Insurance Clients with Discounted Outpatient Services,” http://www.microfinancefocus.com/mffnews/retaining-health-insurance-clients-discounted-outpatient-services

[2] Microinsurance Innovative Facility: “Enhancing Community Resilience in Low-Income Households in India (Building a Community Health Fund),” http://www.microinsurancefacility.org/learning-journey/enhancing-community-resilience-low-income-households-india-building-community-healt

MicroCapital.org story, January 21, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: State Bank of India to Grow Microfinance Portfolio by 50%, Microfinance Institutions Network Promotes Wholesale Lending to Sector,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-state-bank-of-india-to-grow-microfinance-portfolio-by-50-microfinance-institutions-network-promotes-wholesale-lending-to-sector/

MicroCapital.org story, January 20, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Acumen Fund Loans $1m to India Microfinance Institution Gramalaya Urban and Rural Development Initiatives and Network (GUARDIAN),” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-acumen-fund-loans-1m-to-indian-microfinance-institution-gramalaya-urban-and-rural-development-initiatives-and-network-guardian/

MicroCapital.org story, September 12, 2011, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Axis Bank Bandhan Holistic Assistance (ABHA) Initiative to Combine Microfinance, Health Services, Grants to Individuals in West Bengal, India,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-axis-bank-bandhan-holistic-assistance-abha-initiative-to-combine-microfinance-health-services-grants-to-individuals-in-west-bengal-india/

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Swayam Shikshan Prayog
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Swayam+Shikshan+Prayog

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Swasth India Services Private Limited
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Swasth+India+Services

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