Challenges of Social Health Insurance in Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries: Balancing Limited Budgets and Pressure to Provide Universal Health Coverage

Type Web Page Author Rocco Friebel Author Erik Josephson Author Rebecca Forman Author Severine Calza URL https://www.cgdev.org/blog/challenges-social-health-insurance-low-and-lower-middle-income-countries-balancing-limited Date 14/10/2020 Website Type Blog Language en Abstract For the vast majority of people living in low- and lower-middle income countries (LMICs) where governments are not providing universal health coverage (UHC) and without financial protection coverage, they must rely on out-of-pocket payments in cases of health emergencies or serious illness. When a health crisis arises, they may have to make impossible decisions: forego care and risk ill health or even death, or face catastrophic health expenditure, which may expose entire families to financial hardship and force them into poverty. Estimates suggest that around one-tenth of the global population spends more than 10 percent of their household consumption on health care. To protect individual and households against financial risks, the United Nations is urging countries to achieve UHC by 2030, and the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and others have encouraged LMICs to introduce health financing schemes that will expand health coverage across populations. But how feasible are these recommendations in practice, and do LMIC governments and ministries of health have the tools at hand to raise the funds needed without discounting the potentially large administrative burden of premium collection? Our team, a collaboration between the London School of Economics and independent researchers, is engaging in a project that aims to understand the cost of collecting health insurance contributions, particularly from the informal sector, and its determinants. Website Title Center For Global Development Short Title Challenges of Social Health Insurance in Low- and Lower-Middle Income Countries