Why has NHS England been abolished and what does it mean for patients?
As announced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, National Health Service (NHS) England is being abolished and merged with the Department of Health and Social Care to reduce bureaucracy. This restructuring aims to enhance efficiency, although it may result in job losses...
Rethinking Sustainable Health Financing in Africa: From Dependence to Partnership
The Africa Health Agenda, emphasized at the AHAIC 2025 conference, highlights the urgent need for African nations to shift towards proactive health strategies and sustainable, locally-led financing in response to declining external support and rising health...
Five years after Covid lockdown, former Swiss health advisor looks back on crisis
Daniel Koch, former head of communicable diseases at the Federal Office of Public Health, recalls the key role played by the Swiss government during the Covid-19 crisis, five years after a lockdown was first declared in Switzerland.In January 2020, government...
Informal employment and high burden of out-of-pocket healthcare payments among older workers: evidence from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India
India's economy features a significant informal workforce that often struggles with low wages and inadequate healthcare benefits, leading many older workers to continue working past retirement age to cover their medical costs. This study found that informal older...
Medicare austerity reforms and patient out-of-pocket costs: The experience from Australian cancer patients
This paper analyzes trends in provider fees, government spending on private out-of-hospital medical services, and out-of-pocket costs for cancer patients following policy changes aimed at reducing government expenditure. It highlights significant variations in...
Forgone care: The blindspot of our health system
UHC is a crucial goal for India and is supported by the Ayushman Bharat initiatives to enhance primary care and health insurance. Despite progress, significant barriers continue to result in forgone care, particularly among vulnerable populations.Universal health...
Malaysia to develop basic health insurance, takaful products for more sustainable medical treatment access
Bank Negara Malaysia is collaborating with the Ministry of Health and the Employees Provident Fund to develop basic health insurance and takaful products focused on value-based healthcare, aiming to reform the national health sector and manage rising medical...
WHO-World Bank report highlights key challenges in health budget execution
A WHO-World Bank report highlights health budget execution challenges, revealing inefficiencies in spending. It calls for reforms to improve financial management and healthcare delivery for Universal Health Coverage. A new joint report by the World Health Organization...
Smart spending to combat global health threats
Global public goods for health, including prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR) measures, are vital for safeguarding populations against future health threats. Yet the scale of investment in these areas remains inadequate and uneven, especially across income...
Programme-based budgeting for primary care financing: insights for practitioners
In many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), traditional line-item budgeting has hindered effective primary care financing by reducing transparency, limiting flexibility, and fragmenting expenditures. Programme-based budgeting (PBB) offers a strategic...
Financing of the Colombian Health System during a period of reform
Colombia's healthcare system is still in the process of reform. The Ministry of Health indicates that the amounts granted to the capitation payment units in recent years have not been sufficient. It calls for clarification of payment modalities to EPSs for the coming...
A Chinese conundrum: does higher insurance coverage for hospitalization reduce financial protection for the patients who most need it?
This paper analyzes how cost-sharing impacts the use of outpatient and inpatient health services in China. The study reveals that increased cost-sharing for outpatient services leads to decreased outpatient usage while simultaneously increasing reliance on inpatient...
Kenya unveils health financing initiative to boost primary healthcare
The Kisumu Medical and Education Trust (KMET) has launched Tiba Mashinani, a health financing initiative providing loans to private primary healthcare facilities in the Lake Region Economic Bloc, aiming to improve access to quality medical care. The Kisumu Medical and...
Law 100 of 1993 created the comprehensive social security system in Colombia.
In 1993, the Congress of the Republic of Colombia passed Law 100, thus creating the country's comprehensive social security system. It comprises the obligations of the State and society, the institutions and the resources destined to guarantee the coverage of economic...
Czechia mulls merging health insurers amid persistent financial struggles
The Czech government is considering merging health insurance funds to enhance efficiency and address financial challenges within the public healthcare system, but stakeholders warn that this approach may not resolve deeper structural issues, such as ongoing deficits...