Health Financing for the Developing World: Supporting Countries' Search for Viable Systems

A collection of peer-reviewed articles and contributions to books, this overview of the finance of health insurance concentrates on developing countries. The material covers various financing strategies and explains how each can—or cannot—help improve the transition toward universal coverage. The model plans shown here are particularly useful for policy-makers and technical advisers who have to decide upon health financing policies—or are engaged in a debate about them—and the sample forms can be adjusted to the particular economic and political context of the developing countries involved. In addition, there are reminders that this process varies:: in some countries, universal coverage may take time and require a step-by-step approach. In other developing countries, a swift transition to universal coverage may be quite feasible.