Student
Dissertation 2nd Batch 
Bypassing the Moneylenders: A Micro Health Insurance Viability Assessment in a Kolkata Slum
Noah Levinson
Abstract
Statement & Background
Slum dwellers in Kolkata India, as with the urban poor in many parts of the developing world, live in continuous fear that borrowing from money lenders at high interest rates to finance medical care in cases of injury or illness will deplete them of their resources and further exacerbate their present poverty. Models exist, however, in India and elsewhere to protect such individuals and families with micro health insurance. This feasibility study explores the demand side of a potential micro health insurance plan for a slum on the outskirts of Kolkata, looking particularly at levels of interest and willingness to pay.
Hypothesis.That a critical mass of interest in and ability to pay for micro health insurance exists among slum dwellers in the study area.
