Emerging Challenges in Implementing Universal Health Coverage in Asia

As countries in Asia converge on the goal of universal health coverage (UHC), some common challenges are emerging. One is how to ensure coverage of the informal sector so as to make UHC truly universal; a second is how to design a benefit package that is responsive and appropriate to current health...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bredenkamp, Caryn, Evans, Timothy, Lagrada, Leizel, Langenbrunner, John C., Nachuk, Stefan, Palu, Toomas
Format: Journal Article
Language:en_US
Published: Elsevier 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10986/22758
Description
Summary:As countries in Asia converge on the goal of universal health coverage (UHC), some common challenges are emerging. One is how to ensure coverage of the informal sector so as to make UHC truly universal; a second is how to design a benefit package that is responsive and appropriate to current health challenges, yet fiscally sustainable; and a third is how to ensure “supply-side readiness”, i.e. the availability and quality of services, which is a necessary condition for translating coverage into improvements in health outcomes. Using examples from the Asia region, this paper discusses these three challenges and how they are being addressed.