Table 2 Eligible groups for exemption from health insurance contributions
Country (World Bank income classification, 2014) | Year of introduction of (social) health insurance [7] | Year of introduction of government revenue transfers [7] | Eligible groups | Targeting method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Albania (UM) | 1995 | 1995 | children; women working at home; pregnant women; disabled people; cancer patients; unemployed; recipients of social assistance; elderly; war veterans [44, 60, 61] | indirect targeting [60] |
Bosnia & Herzegovina (UM) - Federation | 1997 | 1997 | disabled people; unemployed; refugees [61] | indirect targeting [61] |
Bosnia & Herzegovina (UM) – Republika Srpska | 1999 | 1999 | children < 15 years; mature students while registered with the Republic Bureau of Employment; pregnant women; disabled people; registered unemployed with secondary and higher education; redundant employees still receiving compensation in accordance with the labour; recipients of social assistance; refugees and displaced persons; elderly > 65 years [34, 61] | indirect targeting [61] |
Bulgaria (UM) | 1998 | 1998 | children < 18 years; youths < 26 years enrolled in full-time education; pregnant women; postpartum mothers; disabled people entitled to social support; parents or spouses taking care of disabled people in constant need of help; unemployed entitled to compensation; refugees; prisoners; spouses of soldiers participating in international missions; injured while performing their duties as employees of the Ministry of Interior and civil servants; war veterans [38] | indirect targeting [38] |
Georgia (MIP) (LM) | 1995 (but abolished in 2004) | 2006 (Medical Insurance for the Poor) | poorest 20 % of Georgian households two regions (Adjara and Tbilisi) fund additional beneficiaries (the near-poor, or those with slightly higher proxy means test scores) [21] | direct targeting: proxy-means test [21] |
Kyrgyzstan (LM) | 1997 | 1997 | eligible since 1997: registered unemployed; people with disabilities since childhood; persons receiving social benefits eligible since 2000: children < 16 years; enrolled school children < 18 years; enrolled students of basic, secondary, and higher full-time education < 21 years | indirect targeting [30] |
Lithuania (H) | 1997 | 1997 | children < 18 years; students; women on maternity leave; disabled and their carers; persons with certain illnesses; people on long-term sickness benefits; registered unemployed; recipients of pensions, recipients of social assistance and social insurance cash benefits [64, 65] | indirect targeting [66] |
Montenegro (UM) | 1993 | 1993 | children of parents not able to work; orphans; unemployed entitled to unemployment benefits; recipients of social assistance; refugees; prisoners; military invalids; civil invalids of war; persons receiving veteran allowance if not otherwise insured [67, 68] | indirect targeting [68] |
Republic of Moldova (LM) | 2004 | 2004 | children < 18 years; youths enrolled in full-time education; full-time students in mandatory postgraduate training and doctoral candidates; carers for severely disabled children (into adulthood); pregnant women; postpartum mothers; mothers with four or more children; registered disabled; registered unemployed (for a max. of six months); since 2009: recipients of social assistance according to the Law on Social Aid and families living below the poverty line [39] | indirect targeting [26] |
Romania (UM) | 1999 | 1999 | children < 18 years; youths < 26 years if students with no income; pregnant women; postpartum mothers; women on maternity leave; parents on leave for taking care of children < 2 years (or < 3 years if disabled); disabled; people on long-term sickness benefits; people with no income and having certain illnesses; unemployed; recipients of social assistance; prisoners; persons persecuted by the communist regime or declared war heroes in the 1989 Revolution; war veterans; retired persons with < 340 US$ income/month [24, 69] | indirect targeting [24] |
Russian Federation (H) | 1993 | 1993 | non-working population with citizenship/ legal residence [27] | universal [27] |
Serbia (UM) | 1992 | 1992 | children < 15 years; children/youth < 26 years if enrolled in education; pregnant women; postpartum mothers; disabled; registered unemployed; recipients of social assistance; beneficiaries of accommodation at institutions for social care; internally-displaced people; refugees; Roma population who due to the traditional way of life do not have a permanent living address; family members whose bread giver is engaged on regular military service; elderly > 65 years [70–72] | indirect targeting [72] |
TFYR Macedonia (UM) | 1991 | 1991 | disabled; unemployed registered by the Employment Office; beneficiaries of basic social care; prisoners; war-disabled persons; [73] | indirect targeting [73] |
Turkey (Green Card Scheme) (UM) | 1950–1971 | 1992 (Green Card Scheme) | Turkish citizens living in Turkey who are not covered by any social security scheme and who have a per capita household income of < 1/3 of the minimum wage threshold (except for taxes and social security premiums); pensioners > 65 years and people with chronic illnesses are eligible even if their household’s per capita income is > 1/3 of the minimum wage [23] | direct targeting: proxy-means test [23] |