Financing employee healthcare: fusing the preferences of employees in decision-making

Abstract

Purpose Good health is important for the happiness and productivity of employees of any organization and a nation. With the declining government funding for public Universities in Kenya, providing health cover for employees is a real challenge. Thus, the universities have to explore widely acceptable and sustainable options. This study aims to explore the correlations of employee preferences for health care schemes and evaluated the cost implications of each of the available Schemes.Design/methodology/approach The study applied a multinomial probit analysis on cross-sectional data from Taita Taveta University (TTU) in Kenya's coastal region. Cost-benefit analysis was used to rank alternative healthcare schemes. For triangulation of information, individual interviews were supplemented with key informant interviews.Findings Two sets of factors, personal attributes of employees and the attributes of the health care provider, were found to drive employee preferences for health care schemes. Thus, the universities need to consider these attributes in their choice sets of health care schemes to gain employee support.Research limitations/implications The study was based on a cross-sectional survey that may not capture the dynamic elements in institutional management. Thus, future research may build panel data on the current one for further analysis.Practical implications The study found that household characteristics and the perceived attributes of the healthcare providers are key drivers of the preferences. Thus, it is important to consider the characteristics of the employees (for example, age, family sizes, etc.) and attributes of healthcare providers before selecting a healthcare scheme for the workersOriginality/value This is a pioneer study on the choice of healthcare scheme for institutions of higher learning in Kenya. Universities are made aware of what informs employee's preferences for health schemes. This is important for tailoring health care schemes to match employee preferences for greater satisfaction.