PHA-Exchange> The challenge of private insurance for public good

[claudio at hcmc.netnam.vn]

from "Ruggiero, Mrs. Ana Lucia (WDC)" <ruglucia at PAHO.ORG> -----

The challenge of private insurance for public good


David B. Evans , Director, Department of Health System Financing,
Expenditure and Resource Allocation, Evidence and Information for Policy

Guy Carrin,Scientist, Department of Health System Financing, Expenditure
and Resource Allocation

Timothy G. Evans , Assistant Director-General, Evidence and Information
for Policy, World Health Organization
Bulletin of the World Health Organization - Volume 83, Number 2,
February 2005

Available online as full text at:
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/83/2/editorial20205/en/
<http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/83/2/editorial20205/en/>  

"....A fundamental principle of WHO's work in health financing is the
concept of universal coverage. This requires access for all people to
appropriate promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative health
care at an affordable cost. This is one requirement of health for all
and is consistent with the principle of equity in access. The objective
of universal coverage is also associated with equity in financing,
whereby households contribute to financing the health system on the
basis of their ability to pay. 

The goal of universal coverage is accepted in most countries, though its
realization is dependent on organizational mechanisms that allow
financial contributions to the health system to be collected efficiently
from different sources, that pool these contributions so that the risk
of having to pay for health care is shared by all and not borne by each
contributor individually, and that use these contributions to purchase
or provide effective health interventions...."

Private health Insurance: Implications for Developing Countries

Neelam Sekhri, Health Finance and Policy Specialist, , World Health
Organization 

William Savedoff, Senior Partner, Social Insight, Portland, USA
Bulletin of the World Health Organization - Volume 83, Number 2,
February 2005

Available online at: http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/83/2/en/127.pdf
<http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/83/2/en/127.pdf>  

"....The authors argue that policy-makers do not understand private
health insurance adequately. In their paper, they review international
experiences with private insurance in seven countries. They conclude
that policy-makers can harness private health insurance better to serve
public interests as long as governments have effective regulation in
place and focus public funds on programmes for the poor and
vulnerable....."
 [...hmmm.......Claudio]
 


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