Publication
Engel, L., Rizal, M. F., Clifford, S., Faller, J., Lim, M. H., Le, L. K. D., ... & Mihalopoulos, C. (2025). An Updated Systematic Literature Review of the Economic Costs of Loneliness and Social Isolation and the Cost Effectiveness of Interventions. PharmacoEconomics, 1-17.
Rizal, M. F. (2025). Public Health Insurance and Healthcare Utilisation Decisions of Young Adults. Health Economics, 34(3), 500-517.
Rizal, M. F., Hafidz, F., Kusila, G. R., Aisyiah, W., Revelino, D., Dhanalvin, E., ... & Ruby, M. (2024). Hospital services utilisation and cost before and after COVID-19 hospital treatment: Evidence from Indonesia. Plos one, 19(7), e0305835.
Hafidz, F., Icanervilia, A. V., Rizal, M. F., Listiani, P., Setiyaningsih, H., Sasanti, M. L., ... & Nadjib, M. (2024). Economic Evaluation of Cervical Cancer Screening by HPV DNA, VIA, and Pap smear Methods in Indonesia. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention: APJCP, 25(9), 3015.
Rizal, M. F., Black, N., Johnston, D. W., & Sweeney, R. (2023). Long‐term health effects of a school construction program. Health Economics.
Hafidz, F., & Rizal, M. F. (2022). Analisis efisiensi fasilitas kesehatan: aplikasi menggunakan sotware R. UGM PRESS.
Rizal, M. F., & van Doorslaer, E. (2019). Explaining the fall of socioeconomic inequality in childhood stunting in Indonesia. SSM-population health, 9, 100469.
In many low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), a high proportion of people with mental health needs do not receive treatment, contributing to a significant “treatment gap”. Despite this, there is limited robust evidence on the socioeconomic factors that shape mental healthcare use in these settings. Using data from over 400,000 adults in Indonesia, this study examines how wealth, education, and health insurance coverage influence the likelihood of accessing mental healthcare among those with probable depression. Indonesia is an important context for this analysis because undertreatment and stigma are particularly severe. We find that only 9.3% of those identified as having probable depression receive treatment. Wealth and health insurance are positively associated with the probability of mental healthcare utilisation, while education is not. The wealth gradient diminishes at the highest income levels, and we show this is possibly due to increased stigma. These findings underscore the importance of reducing financial barriers, such as through public health insurance expansion, and reducing stigma to address the mental health treatment gap in LMICs.
Provider payment and dentist referral behaviour (with Fahmi Alfian, Dedy Siregar, and colleagues from Indonesia Social Security Agency for Health)
To reduce frequent and costly referrals to specialists for endodontic treatment, the Indonesian National Health Insurance (NHI) administrator conducted a pilot study allowing non-specialist dentists to perform root canal treatment for non-complicated cases. An additional case-based payment is provided to cover the procedure, typically requiring four visits. Under the existing system, patients need to register with one non-specialist dentist and one primary care physician, who are then paid through a monthly capitation scheme. The pilot study was conducted between August 2021 and January 2022, involving 142 dentists in 12 districts in Indonesia. Using a difference-in-difference approach, we compare the monthly number of patients, visits (per 10,000 registered members), and referrals per total patients of the included dentists with the other 9,500 dentists not involved in the pilot. Our results indicate that the top-up payment increases the number of unique patient visits and the total number of visits, driven entirely by endodontic diagnoses. The additional payment, however, does not reduce the number of referrals to specialists. One possible mechanism of the unchanged referral rate is that non-specialist dentists are more likely to treat uncomplicated cases while referring those with complicated cases. The payment might reduce the rate of undertreatment for non-complicated cases. However, as the diagnosis is largely based on clinical symptoms, the presence of supplier-induced demand could not be excluded.
How do governments decide the value of life? A systematic review of the official use of Value of Statistical Life (joint work with Emily Lancsar and Andini Pramono)
Cost-effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 Surveillance on Wastewater and Environmental Sampling (SWESP) as an early warning system for community COVID-19 transmission in Indonesia (US NIH-funded PEER Project, on going)
Economic evaluation for cervical cancer screening program in Indonesia (2020 Health Technology Assessment Project - Ministry of Health, Indonesia)
Cost-effectiveness of phacemulsification vs extracapsular cataract extraction (2019 Health Technology Assessment Project - Ministry of Health, Indonesia)