[EQ] Health financing policy: a guide for decision-makers

Health financing policy: a guide for decision-makers

Joseph Kutzin
Health Financing Policy Paper, Division of Country Health Systems
WHO Regional Office for Europe Copenhagen , Denmark  2008

 

Available online PDF file [29p.] at; http://www.euro.who.int/document/HSF/health_policy_guide.pdf 

 

Also available in: fr[pdf, 244KB], de[pdf, 238KB], ru[pdf, 630KB]

 

"......This paper elaborates an approach to health financing policy that countries can adapt to their own national context. This entails:
(1) specification of a set of health finance policy objectives, grounded in the core values espoused by WHO;
(2) a conceptual framework for analysing the organization and functions of the health financing system; and
(3) recognition of the way in which key contextual factors, particularly fiscal constraints, affect a country’s ability to attain policy objectives or implement certain types of reforms.

Because of the great diversity of national contexts, there is no "blueprint" – no particular model or system of financing –that is appropriate for all countries. Hence, while the approach is fundamentally grounded in a common set of values and objectives, it permits analysis and recommendations that are country-specific and realistic. Key messages for decision-makers are to identify and address the harmful consequences of fragmentation in financing arrangements, and to ensure that the instruments of health financing policy are consistently aligned with the objectives. ..."

 

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