Health Equity: 12/04/08

Thursday, December 4, 2008

[EQ] Private Health Insurance in Canada

Private Health Insurance in Canada

Jeremiah Hurley, Departments of Economics and Clinical Epidemiology, Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis, McMaster University, Ontario Canada

G. Emmanuel Guindon, Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario Canada

October 15, 2008 This paper is forthcoming as a chapter in Private Health Insurance and Medical Savings Accounts: Lessons from International Experience,
S. Thomson, E. Mossialos and R. G. Evans, Eds, London: Cambridge University Press.

The Centre for Health Economics and policy Analysis (CHEPA) Working Paper Series, 2008

Available online at:

http://www.chepa.org/LinkClick.aspx?link=pdf%2fCHEPA+WP+08-04+Hurley_PrivIns_Canada_Rd2_Oct15_fnl_WPsub.pdf&tabid=130&mid=450

“…..begins with a brief overview of the Canadian health care system; considers the historical path that led to the current role for private health insurance; examines the current market for private health insurance; assesses the evidence for how private insurance contributes to or detracts from health financing goals; and offers some concluding comments on private health insurance in Canada…”

“…..The debate about the role of private insurance in Canada marshals powerful forces on each side, and regardless of the specific ways in which these and related policy debates turn out, two things are certain: Canada can benefit by drawing on the wider international experience with health care finance to craft policies that advance its public policy objectives and minimize the extent to which the development of private insurance detracts from these objectives; and private insurance will figure more prominently in Canadian policy debates in the coming decades than it has since the founding of Medicare….”

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[EQ] Good Practices in Health Financing

Good Practices in Health Financing

Lessons from Reforms in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Pablo Gottret, George J. Schieber, and Hugh R. Waters Editors

2008 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank

Available online as PDF file [530p.] at:

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTHSD/Resources/376278-1202320704235/GoodPracticesHealthFinancing.pdf

“…..With health at the center of global development policy, the international community and developing countries are focused on scaling up health systems, in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). As a result, both global aid and individual country health reform plans are geared to improving health outcomes, securing financial protection against impoverishment, and ensuring longterm, sustainable financing to support these gains. However, with the scaling up of aid, both donors and countries have come to realize that more money alone cannot buy health improvements or prevent impoverishment due to catastrophic medical bills.

Well-targeted health spending is critical for success—including international donor aid to help in achieving sustainable results in the long term. These concerns

have triggered a major debate over the need to define “results” and assemble appropriate data for decision making, monitoring, and evaluation. Central to this

endeavor is the need for an analytically sound evidence base on national health financing policies that have “performed well” in terms of improving health outcomes

and financial protection. Unfortunately, for want of solid evidence to inform policy makers, the policy debate is often driven by ideological, one-size fits-all solutions.

This book attempts to partially fill the void by systematically assessing health financing reforms in nine low- and middle-income countries that have demonstrated

“good performance” in expanding their populations’ health insurance coverage—to both improve health status and protect against catastrophic medical

expenses. Good performance also includes average or better-than-average population health outcomes relative to resources devoted to health and to national

income and educational levels.

Among the low- and middle-income countries that are in the process of achieving high levels of population coverage and financial protection, nine were

selected as examples of good performance by an expert steering committee representing all six World Bank Regions.

They are Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Estonia, the Kyrgyz Republic, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tunisia, and Vietnam.
Each country case is analyzed using a standardized taxonomy that captures the key health and non health sector–specific factors affecting the performance of its health financing….’

Content

Part 1 Assessing Good Practice in Health

Financing Reform

1 Introduction

2 Health Financing Functions

3 Criteria for Defining “Good Practice” and Choosing Country Cases

4 Summaries of Country Cases

5 Enabling Factors for Expanding Coverage

Part 2 Nine Case Studies of Good Practice in Health Financing Reform

6 Chile: Good Practice in Expanding Health Care Coverage

Lessons from Reforms - Ricardo D. Bitrán and Gonzalo C. Urcullo

7 Colombia: Good Practices in Expanding Health Care Coverage - Diana Masis Pinto

8 Costa Rica: “Good Practice” in Expanding Health Care Coverage Lessons from Reforms in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

James Cercone and José Pacheco Jiménez

9 Estonia: “Good Practice” in Expanding Health Care Coverage .- Triin Habicht and Jarno Habicht

10 The Kyrgyz Republic: Good Practices in Expanding Health Care Coverage, 1991–2006

Melitta Jakab and Elina Manjieva

11 Sri Lanka: “Good Practice” in Expanding Health Care Coverage - Ravi P. Rannan-Eliya and Lankani Sikurajapathy

12 Thailand: Good Practice in Expanding Health Coverage Lessons from the Thai Health Care Reforms .

Suwit Wibulpolprasert and Suriwan Thaiprayoon

13 Tunisia: “Good Practice” in Expanding Health Care Coverage

Lessons from Reforms in a Country in Transition - Chokri Arfa and Hédi Achouri

14 Vietnam: “Good Practice” in Expanding Health Care Coverage Lessons from Reform in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Björn Ekman and Sarah Bales

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    IMPORTANT: This transmission is for use by the intended recipient and it may contain privileged, proprietary or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or a person responsible for delivering this transmission to the intended recipient, you may not disclose, copy or distribute this transmission or take any action in reliance on it. If you received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by email to infosec@paho.org, and please dispose of and delete this transmission. Thank you.