Description:
This is an exciting time in East Asia
and the Pacific region. No region will appear to be moving
so rapidly. In this dynamic environment, many countries in
the region have been approaching the World Bank requesting
technical assistance and knowledge about health financing
best practices and options. There is great interest in
expanding knowledge sharing and learning from other East
Asian and Pacific countries about their experiences in
health financing. Moreover, some common issues appear to be
emerging: universal insurance, options for financing health
insurance, institutional setups of health financing options,
provider payment mechanisms, equity considerations, ways to
reach the poor and impoverished, and ways to meet the
challenges of a changing demographics and epidemiologic
profile. Under a generous grant from the Health, Nutrition,
and population hub in the World Bank in fiscal year 2008,
the region was requested to provide an overview of health
financing systems in the region. This overview examined the
different health financing mechanisms in terms of
performance on dimensions of efficiency and equity and in
terms of relative roles of government. In addition, the
analysis was to identify, gaps in knowledge needing to be
addressed strengthen and reform existing health financing
mechanisms and thereby expand health coverage and benefits.