Business & Management Studies

Abstract

Using the panel component of the General Household Survey we examined health care facility choice among Nigerians. Our analysis focused on access to, and choice of facility under different scenarios. When individuals in all socio-economic groups are presented with one facility at a time, we find that private health facilities are the most popular. However, when all the health care facilities are simultaneously made available to all socio-economic groups, the predicted probabilities from multinomial probit model show that individuals in the richest socio-economic group are twice as likely to go to a private health facility as the individuals in the poorest group. Surprisingly, all income groups choose spiritual/religious institutions ahead of public health facilities when presented with all categories of facilities. When a poor person chooses to bypass a less costly public facility and pay for care further away, such action is especially bothersome. This phenomenon of bypassing cheaper medical care for more expensive care is indicative of the tremendous task ahead of policymakers in providing accessible and quality care.