EJOCR105-230 |Received: 01 June 2017 | Accepted: 04 September 2017 | January-December-2017 [(6)1: 219-227]
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH
© 2017 CREATIVE COMMON ATTRIBUTION | Volume 6| Issue 1 | ISSN: 2444-8151
Measuring the Performance of Micro-Health Insurance
Schemes in Pakistan Based on Novel Adaptive Neural
Network Classifier
Tehzeeb Mustafa
1,2
, Zhou Lulin
1,2
, Zinet Jamie Abdullahi
2
, Numair Nisar
1,2
1
Institute of Medical Insurance and Health Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, P.R. China
2
School of Management, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, P.R. China
ABSTRACT
Micro-health insurance models have emerged (in different forms) as a more reliable source of seeking
financial protection for a significant proportion of Pakistanis against the downside of medical cost. Most
micro-health insurance contributions end up with mutual funds hence the performance of the mutual fund
determines to a large extent the sustainability of the scheme. This makes the mutual fund market an
indispensable factor in stimulating or stifling healthcare access in Pakistan with health equity implications.
We applied a novel fast adaptive neural network classifier (FANNC) to publicly available historical financial
performance data from the Mutual Fund Association of Pakistan. We benchmarked our results against the
outcome of a backpropagation neural network model (BPN) and measured speed of processing performance
information for micro-health insurance managers looking for high earning but less risky investment
destination for their vulnerable funds. The FANNC tool proved superior in terms of prediction error and
processing time to existing robust models such as the Backpropagation neural network.
Keywords: Microhealth, Insurance, Rewards, Funds, Pakistan, Neural Network
INTRODUCTION
Typical of most developing countries, health
inequity has become endemic in Pakistan over
time. Despite its resource potential, several
Pakistani’s (especially those in rural areas) live
under high financial catastrophe and
impoverishment and are unable to meet the
constantly rising cost of an “unreliable”
healthcare service [1]. According to the World
Health Organisation 55% of total healthcare cost
in Pakistan is financed through Out of Pocket
(OOP) while 26% of the population (largely
public sector workers and military officers) have
their healthcare cost partially funded by the state
[2]. In 2016, the gross total OOP expenditure
incurred by households in Pakistan exceeded
$3.9 million dollars. In the midst of escalating
healthcare cost among the majority low-income
households, expenses associated with sudden
illness, are managed through adopting several
coping strategies such as drawing on savings,
borrowing and selling productive assets such as
poultry, cattle and land [3].
Yet these coping strategies have become
frequently inadequate to fully cover the cost of
healthcare leading to unexpected consequential
debts that exacerbated the precarious financial
situation of an already impoverished family [4].
Eventhough the health insurance system has
gained some mileage in Pakistan due to swift
learning from neighbors such as China, its
intervention as a healthcare financial protection
mechanism against excessive healthcare cost is
still an adventure in transition [5]. In 2015, an
elementary national health insurance that
requires individuals to mandatorily enroll was
introduced in Punjab but it collapsed under
managerial crisis, accumulated debt owed to
service providers, accusations of corruption