PHA-Exchange> Paying For Health Care Out of Pocket Impoverishes At Least 150 Million Worldwide

Tue Jul 17 10:59:46 PDT 2007

Are Citizens Of The World Satisfied With Their Health? 

 Jim Clifton is the chairman and chief executive officer of the Gallup 
Organization in Washington, D.C.

 Newt Gingrich is the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and 
founder of the Center for Health Transformation in Washington, D.C.

Health Affairs 26, no. 5  July 17,2007

Available online at: 
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/hlthaff.26.5.w545/DC1 
<http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/hlthaff.26.5.w545/DC1>  

".....This paper represents initial analyses of data on self-perceived health 
conditions and satisfaction with personal health from a representative survey 
of citizens in 130 countries. The analysis examines the effects of income and 
age on health perceptions along with the combined effect of cultural norms and 
income. Three important conclusions can be drawn. First, individual 
perceptions regarding personal health status are remarkably consistent around 
the world. Second, the incidence of satisfaction with personal health in the 
United States is comparable to that in most countries. Third, perceptions of 
personal health correlate strongly with respondents' income level, both 
globally and regionally...." [Health Affairs 26, no. 5 (2007): w545-w551 
(published online 17 July 2007; 10.1377/hlthaff.26.5.w545)]

Paying For Health Care Out of Pocket Impoverishes At Least 150 Million 
Worldwide, 
Researchers Say In New Health Affairs Issue

".....At least 150 million people worldwide suffer financial catastrophe each 
year and 100 million are pushed under the poverty level simply because they 
need to pay for health services, according to new World Health Organization 
(WHO) research published today in the July/August issue of the journal Health 
Affairs. 

The researchers found that countries could reduce the extent of health-related 
financial catastrophe by moving away from out-of-pocket payments, and towards 
prepayment mechanisms such as taxes and insurance, in financing their health 
care systems. http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/4/972 
<http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/4/972> 

The new Health Affairs issue is a thematic volume on global health financing. 
http://content.healthaffairs.org/current.shtml 
<http://content.healthaffairs.org/current.shtml>  It features leading global-
health figures such as William Hsiao and Paul Farmer. Highlights of the issue 
include the following:

AIDS Vaccine Development. Even a modestly effective, first-generation AIDS 
vaccine could have a profound impact on the epidemic, according to a new model 
developed by researchers from the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and 
the Futures Institute. They found that a vaccine with 50 percent efficacy that 
was provided to nearly a third of the population would avoid 17 million new 
HIV infections between 2015 and 2030. 
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/4/1147 
<http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/4/1147> 

Is Global Health Aid Effective? Brookings Institution researchers write that 
health aid is closely aligned in the aggregate with recipients' aggregate 
disease burden and commitment to health. However, they also note that health 
aid is fragmented, unpredictable, and disproportionately targeted to countries 
with smaller populations. 
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/4/935 
<http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/4/935> 

Hospital Quality. The Department of Health and Human Services' Hospital 
Quality Alliance (HQA) program collects data on hospitals' management of three 
common medical conditions: acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart 
failure, and pneumonia. Harvard's Ashish Jha and colleagues found that, for 
each of the three conditions, higher hospital performance on the associated 
HQA process measures was associated with lower risk-adjusted mortality. 
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/4/1104 
<http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/4/1104> 

 July/August 2007 - Volume 26, Number 4 

Global Health Financing 

>From the Editor 

Global Health Care Matters: Broadening The Focus 

John K. Iglehart  
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/extract/26/4/918 
<http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/extract/26/4/918>  

Overview 

PROLOGUE: Health Care Financing Worldwide: An Overview 

http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/extract/26/4/920 
<http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/extract/26/4/920>  

Financing Global Health: Mission Unaccomplished 

George J. Schieber, Pablo Gottret, Lisa K. Fleisher, and Adam A. Leive 
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/4/921 
<http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/4/921>  

Bigger And Better? Scaling Up And Innovation In Health Aid 

Christopher Lane and Amanda Glassman 
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/4/935 
<http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/4/935>  

Cost Pressures 

PROLOGUE: Health Care Cost Pressures In A Global Context 
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/extract/26/4/949 
<http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/extract/26/4/949>  

Why Is A Systemic View Of Health Financing Necessary? 

William C. Hsiao 
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/4/950 
<http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/4/950>  

What Should A Country Spend On Health Care? 

William D. Savedoff 
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/4/962 
<http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/4/962>  

Out-Of-Pocket Spending 

PROLOGUE: Out-Of-Pocket Health Spending And The Poor [Extract] 
<http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/extract/26/4/971> 

Protecting Households From Catastrophic Health Spending [Abstract]

Ke Xu, David B. Evans, Guido Carrin, Ana Mylena Aguilar-Rivera, Philip 
Musgrove, and Timothy Evans 

Informal Payments And The Financing Of Health Care In Developing And 
Transition Countries 

Maureen Lewis  Abstract

Country Studies 

PROLOGUE: A Global View Of Health: Country Studies 

Universal Coverage In The Land Of Smiles: Lessons From Thailand's 30 Baht 
Health Reforms 

David Hughes and Songkramchai Leethongdee Abstract] 
<http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/4/999> 

Health Financing And Insurance Reform In Morocco 

Jennifer Prah Ruger and Daniel Kress Abstract]

An Analysis Of Equity In Brazilian Health System Financing 

Maria Alicia Domínguez Ugá and Isabela Soares Santos Abstract]

Informal Payments In The Health Sector: A Case Study From Turkey 

Mehtap Tatar, Hacer Özgen, Bayram Sahin, Paolo Belli, and Peter Berman 
Abstract]

Adult Health In The Russian Federation: More Than Just A Health Problem 

Patricio Marquez, Marc Suhrcke, Martin McKee, and Lorenzo Rocco Abstract]

Commentary 

Technological And Social Innovation: A Unifying New Paradigm For Global Health 

Charles A. Gardner, Tara Acharya, and Derek Yach Abstract]

Interview 

Health, Equity, And Political Economy: A Conversation With Paul Farmer 

Fitzhugh Mullan Abstract]

Health Tracking 

MARKETWATCH: Global Infectious Disease Surveillance And Health Intelligence 

Stephen S. Morse 

MARKETWATCH: Measuring And Reducing Waiting Times: A Cross-National Comparison 
Of Strategies 

Sharon Willcox, Mary Seddon, Stephen Dunn, Rhiannon Tudor Edwards, Jim Pearse, 
and Jack V. Tu 

MARKETWATCH: Mental Health Disorders In Childhood: Assessing The Burden On 
Families 

Susan H. Busch and Colleen L. Barry 

MARKETWATCH: Benefits For Employees With Children With Special Needs: Findings 
>From The Collaborative Employee Benefit Study 

James M. Perrin, Christina F. Fluet, Lynda Honberg, Betsy Anderson, Nora 
Wells, Susan Epstein, Deborah Allen, Carol Tobias, and Karen A. Kuhlthau 

MARKETWATCH: The Inverse Relationship Between Mortality Rates And Performance 
In The Hospital Quality Alliance Measures 

Ashish K. Jha, E. John Orav, Zhonghe Li, and Arnold M. Epstein 

TRENDS: Prevalence And Trends In Obesity Among Aged And Disabled U.S. Medicare 
Beneficiaries, 1997-2002 

Jalpa A. Doshi, Daniel Polsky, and Virginia W. Chang 

TRENDS: Trends In Spending For Substance Abuse Treatment, 1986-2003 

Tami L. Mark, Katharine R. Levit, Rita Vandivort-Warren, Rosanna M. Coffey, 
Jeffrey A. Buck the SAMHSA Spending Estimates Team 

Confronting Trade-Offs In Health Care: Harvard Pilgrim Health Care's 
Organizational Ethics Program 

James E. Sabin and David Cochran 

Narrative Matters 

 Awakening To Global Health 

Claire Panosian Dunavan  Extract]

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