As part of its health care financing strategy in general and its health insurance strategy in particular, the Government of Ethiopia endorsed and launched community-based health insurance (CBHI) schemes in 13 pilot woredas in Amhara, Oromia, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples (SNNP), and Tigray regions in 2010/11 to provide risk protection mechanisms for those employed in the rural and the informal sectors. Three years on, the government has decided to scale up CBHI, with schemes in 161 woredas. This impact is intended to inform the scale-up process.