Extending Coverage and Benefits of Social Financing Systems in Developing Countries. Phase 1: Review of Concepts and Literature and Preliminary Field Work Design

摘要

This paper reviews the reality and feasibility of extending coverage and benefits of social financing systems for health services in developing countries. Social financing is regarded as a popular and possibly very effective solution to the demand for pooling financial risks associated with catastrophic illness. Social insurance, however, often creates coverage, institutional, and equity problems in health care. The research examines the social financing concept, as well as types of health insurance available, and their possible application to the health financing concerns of developing countries. Case study summaries offer information and variables concerning the what, who, how, how much, and conditional aspects of health insurance in developing countries. A chronological review of health insurance development in the United States offers additional data on financing sources, strategies, and analyses. This HFS Major Applied Research Paper No. 3 is a stand-alone document and a companion piece to HFS Small Applied Research Paper No. 4, 'Health Insurance in Practice: Fifteen Case Studies from Developing Countries.' Although the two documents are related, they remain separate reports.