Household's Willingness to Pay for Dental Insurance: Application of Open-ended Question Method

Access to dental insurance is related to the utilization of more dental services and better oral and dental health. The current study aimed at addressing the 2 following questions: how much are the premium households willing to pay for dental insurance, and which factors are associated with their willingness to pay for this insurance coverage.
In the current survey study, data were collected through a self-reporting questionnaire based on the contingent valuation method. The open-ended question method was applied to elicit willingness to pay in a sample of 385 respondents attending Isfahan dental clinics, Iran, in 2015. The linear regression approach was used to address factors related to willingness to pay for dental insurance. Data analysis was performed using Stata version 11.
The median and 5% trimmed mean of willingness to pay for dental insurance per person per month was $US 2.74 and 51.10, respectively. The result of regression analysis indicted that the subjects older than 40 revealed significantly less willingness to pay for dental insurance. No significant association was found between willingness to pay for dental insurance and variables of households’ health status, households’ economic status, as well as households’ demographic characteristics.
From a policy point of view, willingness to pay can be used as a guide to set a premium for dental insurance. Almost all potential factors made no contribution to willingness to pay. Thus, in order to expand this insurance coverage, government policies should be adopted to improve people awareness about oral and dental health.