Narek M. Kesoyan

As health systems worldwide increasingly focus on mitigating the burden of non-communicable diseases, the strategic role of insurance schemes in facilitating early detection and preventive care, thereby reducing the substantial costs associated with advanced-stage treatment, has become a critical area of policy and research attention. This study aims to evaluate the impact of various health financing models, specifically voluntary, compulsory, and social insurance, on the burden of cardiovascular diseases and neoplasms, measured by Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), across working-age and older populations. The analysis is based on unbalanced panel data from 51 countries covering the period 2000–2021, drawing from the Global Burden of Disease database for DALY rates and the OECD and WHO Global Health Expenditure Database for health financing indicators. Fixed and random effects panel regression models with clustered robust standard errors were employed to estimate the associations. Results show that voluntary private insurance significantly reduces DALY rates from cardiovascular diseases, by approximately 19-28%, among working-age (15-49) and older adults (50-69). Compulsory and social insurance models also exhibit protective effects, but of smaller magnitude. Government health financing schemes similarly correlate with improved outcomes. In contrast, enterprise-based financing is positively associated with higher DALY rates, especially in older age groups. Insurance schemes demonstrate weaker and more inconsistent associations for neoplasms, with compulsory insurance and government schemes showing the most stable links to reduced burden among older adults.