How can countries chart their own course toward universal health coverage? Like many ambitious global goals, universal health coverage (UHC) remains an aspiration for many countries. The World Health Organization estimates that half the world's population lacks access to basic health services. Moreover, this already staggering number masks inequities that exist between and within countries: gaps between rich and poor, men and women, young and old, and among people of different ethnic backgrounds. UHC promises to give all people greater access to higher quality health services without the fear of financial hardship. But the task of turning this vision into reality poses a significant challenge for countries at all stages of economic development. In The Road to Universal Health Coverage, Jeffrey L. Sturchio, Ilona Kickbusch, Louis Galambos, and their contributors explore the ways in which the private sector is already helping countries achieve universal health coverage. Stressing the many positive aspects of UHC developments, the book focuses on the new health economy and the sometimes controversial dimensions of the private sector helping countries achieve UHC. Theoretical chapters are complemented by a series of case studies that explore the myriad ways in which private sector actors are already addressing UHC. What are the conditions required for countries to translate their successful experiences and policy promises into practical results for improved population health? In answering this question, the contributors examine the relationship between health employment and economic growth. They also analyze the critical success factors for private sector engagement in UHC, the role of healthy women in creating and sustaining healthy economies, and the role of the pharmaceutical sector. Looking to the political, economic, and social implications of moving from aspiration to implementation, The Road to Universal Health Coverage points the way to the many opportunities ahead as companies continue to work with governments and civil society partners to help achieve UHC. Jean-Louise Arcand, Héctor Arreola-Ornelas, Nathan J. Blanchet, Christine Bugos, Jim Campbell, John Campbell, Jr., Ibadat Dhillon, Donika Dimovska, Christian Franz, Michael Fürst, Louis Galambos, Belén Garijo, Adeel Ishtiaq, Sowmya Kadandale, Ilona Kickbusch, Felicia Marie Knaul, Jeremy Lauer, Robert Marten, Justin McCarthy, Harald Nusser, K. Srinath Reddy, Yasmine Rouai, Jeffrey L. Sturchio, Cicely Thomas, Tana Wuliji, Snow Yang, Pascal Zurn

This book is about 24 developing countries that have embarked on the journey towards universal health coverage (UHC) following a bottom-up approach, with a special focus on the poor and vulnerable, through a systematic data collection that provides practical insights to policymakers and practitioners. Each of the UHC programs analyzed in this book is seeking to overcome the legacy of inequality by tackling both a “financing gap†? and a “provision gap†?: the financing gap (or lower per capita spending on the poor) by spending additional resources in a pro-poor way; the provision gap (or underperformance of service delivery for the poor) by expanding supply and changing incentives in a variety of ways. The prevailing view seems to indicate that UHC require not just more money, but also a focus on changing the rules of the game for spending health system resources. The book does not attempt to identify best practices, but rather aims to help policy makers understand the options they face, and help develop a new operational research agenda. The main chapters are focused on providing a granular understanding of policy design, while the appendixes offer a systematic review of the literature attempting to evaluate UHC program impact on access to services, on financial protection, and on health outcomes.

Using cross-country analysis and case studies, this book provides new insights and potential policy responses for the key fiscal policy challenges that both advanced and emerging economies will be facing.

Universal health coverage (UHC) has been recognized by the World Health Organization as a key element in reducing social inequality and a critical component of sustainable development and poverty reduction. In most of the world UHC is sought through a combination of public and private-sector health care systems. In most low- and middle-income countries health systems are evolving to increasingly rely on the private sector because the public sector lacks the infrastructure and staff to meet all health care needs. With growing individual assets available for private-sector expenditure, patients often seek better access to technology, staff, and medicines. However, in low-income countries nearly 50 percent of health care financing is out-of-pocket. With the expected increase in the overall fraction of care provided through the private sector, these expenditures can be financially catastrophic for individuals in the informal workforce. In the global workforce of approximately 3 billion people, only 10 to 15 percent are estimated to have some type of access to occupational health services. The informal workforce is growing worldwide, and the degree to which its occupational health needs are satisfied depends on the capabilities of the general health care system. In July 2014, the Institute of Medicine held a workshop on approaches to universal health coverage and occupational health and safety for informal sector workers in developing countries. This report summarizes the presentations and discussions from this workshop. Approaches to Universal Health Coverage and Occupational Health and Safety for the Informal Workforce in Developing Countries identifies best practices and lessons learned for the informal workforce in developing countries in the financing of health care with respect to health care delivery models that are especially suitable to meeting a population's needs for a variety of occupational health issues, including the prevention of or mitigation of hazardous risks and the costs of providing medical and rehabilitation services and other benefits to various types of workers within this population. These experiences and lessons learned may be useful for stakeholders in moving the discussions, policies, and mechanisms forward to increase equitable access to quality health services without financial hardship for the informal workforce.

"The World Health Report: research for universal health coverage" focuses on the importance of research in advancing progress towards universal health coverage. In addition, it identifies the benefits of increased investment in health research by low- and middle-income countries using case studies from around the world, and proposes ways to further strengthen this type of research.

In 2015, building on the advances of the Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations adopted Sustainable Development Goals that include an explicit commitment to achieve universal health coverage by 2030. However, enormous gaps remain between what is achievable in human health and where global health stands today, and progress has been both incomplete and unevenly distributed. In order to meet this goal, a deliberate and comprehensive effort is needed to improve the quality of health care services globally. Crossing the Global Quality Chasm: Improving Health Care Worldwide focuses on one particular shortfall in health care affecting global populations: defects in the quality of care. This study reviews the available evidence on the quality of care worldwide and makes recommendations to improve health care quality globally while expanding access to preventive and therapeutic services, with a focus in low-resource areas. Crossing the Global Quality Chasm emphasizes the organization and delivery of safe and effective care at the patient/provider interface. This study explores issues of access to services and commodities, effectiveness, safety, efficiency, and equity. Focusing on front line service delivery that can directly impact health outcomes for individuals and populations, this book will be an essential guide for key stakeholders, governments, donors, health systems, and others involved in health care.

Abstract: Health systems are not just about improving health: good ones also ensure that people are protected from the financial consequences of receiving medical care. Anecdotal evidence suggests health systems often perform badly in this respect, apparently with devastating consequences for households, especially poor ones and near-poor ones. Two principal methods have been used to measure financial protection in health. Both relate a household's out-of-pocket spending to a threshold defined in terms of living standards in the absence of the spending: the first defines spending as catastrophic if it exceeds a certain percentage of the living standards measure; the second defines spending as impoverishing if it makes the difference between a household being above and below the poverty line. The paper provides an overview of the methods and issues arising in each case, and presents empirical work in the area of financial protection in health, including the impacts of government policy. The paper also reviews a recent critique of the methods used to measure financial protection.