1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910788339203321

Autore

Tsounta Evridiki

Titolo

Universal Health Care 101 : : Lessons for the Eastern Caribbean and Beyond / / Evridiki Tsounta

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Washington, D.C. : , : International Monetary Fund, , 2009

ISBN

1-4623-2651-X

1-4527-9043-4

9786612842825

1-4518-7208-9

1-282-84282-X

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (37 p.)

Collana

IMF Working Papers

Soggetti

Medical economics

Medical care, Cost of

Public Finance

Taxation

Health Policy

Demography

National Government Expenditures and Health

Analysis of Health Care Markets

Health: Government Policy

Regulation

Public Health

Health: General

Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies

Economics of the Elderly

Economics of the Handicapped

Non-labor Market Discrimination

Public finance & taxation

Health systems & services

Health economics

Welfare & benefit systems

Population & demography

Health care spending

Health care

Health

Social security contributions

Aging



Expenditure

Taxes

Population and demographics

Expenditures, Public

Medical care

Social security

Population aging

Taiwan Province of China

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references.

Nota di contenuto

Contents; I. Introduction; II. What are the Available Financing Options for Universal Health Care?; III. The Challenges of Population Aging and the Epidemiological Transition; IV. What Would Be the Optimal Tax: General Taxation Versus Mandatory Payroll/ Social Security Contributions?; V. Providing Universal Coverage: A Single Provider or Numerous Providers?; Boxes; 1. National Health Insurance in Taiwan Province of China (POC); VI. Designing the Benefit Package; 2. The Targeting of Health Services to the Poor: An International Perspective

VII. Preconditions for Successfully Implementing Health Care Reforms3. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE); 4. Examples of Planning and Gradually Extending Universal Health Care: Republic of Korea and Taiwan Province of China; VIII. Conclusions; References; Tables; 1. Selected Countries with Universal Health Care; 2. Selected Caribbean Countries Planning Universal Health Care Coverage; 3. ECCU: Official Development Assistance for Health, 1973-2005; Figures; 1. ECCU: Long-Term Health Care Costs, 2005-35; 2. ECCU: Diabetes Prevalence by Age Group, 2000-30

3. ECCU: Cost of Treating Diabetes, 2000-30Appendices; I. Proposed Universal Health Care System in St. Lucia; II. Projecting Long-term Health Care Costs Due to Population Aging; III. Estimating Age-adjusted Health Spending

Sommario/riassunto

Despite the increasing interest in universal health care, little is known about the optimal way to finance, design, and implement it. This paper attempts to fill this gap by providing some general policy recommendations on this important issue. While most of the paper addresses the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) countries, its policy implications are applicable to any country. The paper finds that the best financing option is country-specific depending on a country’s economic, cultural, institutional, demographic and epidemiological characteristics, as well as political economy considerations. However, taxation should be the primary financing source. It also concludes that an appropriate and realistic benefit package would need to be designed to ensure the system’s financial viability. Regarding the optimal way to implement universal health care, certain preconditions are needed, including sound public administration, a small informal economy, and a transparent health financing system that builds social consensus.