Impact of Stre@mline Ubuntu on the Livelihood of low-income households

Community Health Insurance (CHI) has emerged as a key strategy for providing affordable healthcare to low-income households in developing countries. CHI is a type of health insurance scheme in which members of a community pool their resources to pay for healthcare services. This article explores the impact of community health insurance on the livelihoods of low-income households, a testimonial from C.O.U Kisiizi Hospital, and how C.O.U. Kisiizi Hospital and Streamline Health Tech have tackled some of the challenges facing CHI.

CHI has been found to have a positive impact on the livelihoods of low-income households in several ways.

1. CHI provides access to affordable healthcare services. In many developing countries, healthcare services are expensive and unaffordable for low-income households. CHI provides a way for these households to access healthcare services without incurring a significant financial burden. This is important because access to healthcare services is critical for maintaining good health and productivity, which are essential for livelihoods.
2. CHI helps to reduce the financial risks associated with healthcare expenses. Health emergencies can be expensive, and many low-income households are not prepared to deal with these expenses. CHI helps to spread the financial risks associated with healthcare expenses across the community. This means that if a member of the community falls ill, the financial burden is shared by all members of the community. This helps to reduce the financial strain on individual households and ensures that healthcare expenses do not lead to impoverishment.
3. CHI improved the quality of healthcare services. When members of the community pool their resources to pay for healthcare services, they enjoy subsidized rates from the hospital This can lead to improved access to quality healthcare services, which is important for maintaining good health and productivity.
4. CHI has helped build social capital, with a perfect example from the C.O.U. Kisiizi Hospital CHI scheme and what they have been able to accomplish within the Kisiizi community; When members of the Kisiizi community and surrounding areas came together to pool their resources to pay for healthcare services, it built a strong social network and trust among each other and with the C.O.U. Kisiizi Hospital . This had a positive spill-over effect on other aspects of community life, such as collective decision-making and community development.
5. The CHI subscribers enjoy added benefits provided by Hospitals supporting the CHI schemes. A big perk like the mother's waiting home at C.O.U. Kisiizi Hospital where Mothers who are members of the CHI scheme can enjoy free admission to the Mother's Waiting Home to receive timely and quality maternity care.

The Kisiizi Mothers Waiting Home

Despite the potential benefits of CHI, there are also some challenges that need to be addressed. One challenge is the issue of adverse selection. Adverse selection occurs when individuals who are more likely to need healthcare services are more likely to enroll in the insurance scheme. This can lead to higher healthcare costs and higher premiums for all members of the community. To address this challenge, CHI schemes need to develop strategies to attract a broad range of members from the community.

• For this the C.O.U. Kisiizi Hospital 's Scheme & Stre@mline Ubuntu's model and criteria to onboard preexisting affinity groups like village saving groups like the Engonzi burial groups and other community associations that have existed for not less than?1 year.

Another challenge is the issue of sustainability. CHI schemes need to be financially sustainable in the long term to ensure that they can continue to provide affordable healthcare services to low-income households. This requires effective management and governance structures, as well as strategies to attract and retain members.

• For the issue of sustainability; the Stre@mline Ubuntu system helps organize the scheme data which helps manage the clients and monitor payments from premiums to claims, Stre@mline Ubuntu also curbs scenarios of fraud with provisions of the Patient user card and streamlined patient information. Stre@mline Ubuntu also facilitates quick and efficient service delivery which encourages members to keep using the Service...all these services and more have proved to be key facilitators for the sustainability of the C.O.U. Kisiizi Hospital 's CHI scheme.

Community Health Insurance has the potential to even do more and has proven to have a positive impact on the livelihoods of low-income households. By providing access to affordable healthcare services, reducing the financial risks associated with healthcare expenses, improving the quality of healthcare services, and building social capital within a community, CHI has helped to promote health, productivity, and overall well-being. Overall, CHI is an important strategy for improving the health and livelihoods of low-income households in developing countries.