  Use of healthcare services is inadequate in Ethiopia in spite of the high
burden of diseases. User-fee charges are the most important factor for this
deficiency in healthcare utilization. Hence, the country is introducing
community based and social health insurances since 2010 to tackle such
problems. This study was conducted cross-sectionally, in March 2013, to assess
willingness of rural households to pay for community-based health insurance in
Debub Bench district of Southwest Ethiopia. Two-stage sampling technique was
used to select 845 households. Selected households were contacted using simple
random sampling technique. Double bounded dichotomous choice method was used to
illicit the willingness to pay. Data were analyzed with STATA 11. Krinsky and
Rob method was used to calculate the mean/median with 95% CI willingness to pay
after the predictors have been estimated using Seemingly Unrelated Bivariate
Probit Regression. Eight hundred and eight (95.6%) of the sampled households
were interviewed. Among them 629(77.8%) households were willing to join the
proposed CBHI scheme. About 54% of the households in the district were willing
to pay either the initial or second bids presented. On average, these
households were willingness to pay was 162.61 Birr per household (8.9 US$)
annually. If the community based health insurance is rolled out in the
district, about half of households will contribute 163 Birr (8.9 US$) annually.
If the premium exceeds the amount specified, majority of the households would
not join the scheme. Key words: community based health insurance, willingness
to pay, contingent valuation method, double bounded dichotomous choice, Krinsky
and Robb, rural households, Ethiopia.
