A LITER OF MILK: Right Doctor, Right Treatment, Right Cost: Service Value and Perceived Value at UPLIFT India Association

Uplift India Association is a mutual-based, community-managed health microinsurance program serving poor and low-income families living in the slums of Pune and Mumbai, India. The program combines its core hospitalization coverage (paid on a reimbursement basis) with a wide range of additional benefits, including discounts on outpatient care and drugs, health promotion and preventive care activities, and a 24/7 telephone helpline and referral services. An earlier study (McGuinness, 2011) found substantial financial value in the program for clients who used the hospitalization benefit, but only 2% of members use that benefit per year. This study seeks to understand the value, including the service value, gleaned from the product by all members, including those who do not make hospitalization claims. It also seeks insight into client perceptions of value in the many components of the product. Data was collected through focus group discussions with members and nonmembers of the program and interviews with staff of Uplift and partner institutions.