Supreme Decree No. 001-2025-TR Immediate coverage for pregnant women affiliated to the Social Security Health System.
On January 14, 2025, the Peruvian Government made official the publication of Supreme Decree Nº 001-2025-TR, eliminating the waiting period for pregnant women. Thus, it establishes that pregnant women affiliated to the EsSalud social security system have immediate...

Effective member coverage to be reached by 2025
For the year 2025, which has just begun, there are several challenges for the health system in the Dominican Republic, in order to achieve effective health coverage of the population affiliated to the Family Health Insurance. Among others, it will be necessary to...
Financial Protection Outcomes in Four East Asian Countries During COVID-19: Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia
This paper analyzes the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and financial protection in four East Asia and Pacific (EAP) countries: Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand. It highlights a general improvement in service coverage in...
Building blocks for lifelong health: Why we must prioritize children
UNICEF’s report, The Urgent Need to Invest in Children’s Health: NCDs and Mental Health, highlights a pressing global crisis affecting over 2.1 billion children and adolescents. Chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health conditions—often...
Financialisation: a 21st century commercial determinant of health equity
Published in The Lancet Public Health, the research article Financialisation: a 21st Century Commercial Determinant of Health Equity by Sharon Friel, Ashley Schram, Nick Frank, Megan Arthur, Bel Townsend, and Hridesh Gajurel explores how financial markets shape public...
Blueprint to close the women’s health gap: How to Improve lives and economies for all
The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with the McKinsey Health Institute, has published Blueprint to Close the Women’s Health Gap: How to Improve Lives and Economies for All. This report talks about the societal and economic benefits of addressing disparities in...
Socio-economic factors in healthcare allocation: Insights from Italy’s 2023 NHS reform
The article "The Role of Socio-Economic Determinants in the Interregional Allocation of Healthcare Resources: Some Insights from the 2023 Reform in the Italian NHS" by Roberto Fantozzi, Stefania Gabriele, and Alberto Zanardi, published in the Journal of Health Policy,...

Paris to host 11th IRDES-LIRAES workshop on applied health economics and policy evaluation
The 11th IRDES-LIRAES Workshop on Applied Health Economics and Policy Evaluation will be held in Paris on June 16-17, 2025. Experts will discuss healthcare equity, financing, and policy evaluation. The event includes presentations, discussions, and networking....

Containing costs and nudging doctors and hospitals towards policy goals in Japan
Japan controls health care costs with a fee schedule setting prices and billing conditions. The fee schedule is revised biennially to align with policy goals. Annual price cuts for pharmaceuticals and devices create fiscal space for priority areas. This approach could...
Equity in healthcare financing: A review of evidence
The research paper "Equity in Healthcare Financing: A Review of Evidence", authored by Emilia Luyten and Sandy Tubeuf and published in the Journal of Health Policy (2024), examines the redistributive effects of various healthcare financing mechanisms on income...
Health systems in action: United Kingdom
Key Insights The United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) provides universal health coverage, primarily funded through general taxation, ensuring access to comprehensive care based on need rather than the ability to pay. Health and social care responsibilities...

PhilHealth benefits now cover outpatient emergency services
The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has introduced the Outpatient Emergency Care Benefit (OECB) package, effective January 1, following PhilHealth Circular No. 2024-0033. This initiative allows coverage for emergency procedures and services for patients...
The political economy of national health insurance schemes: evidence from Zambia
Governments in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) are increasingly considering national health insurance schemes (NHIS) to achieve universal health coverage (UHC). This article examines the political economy surrounding the establishment of Zambia's NHIS in 2018,...
South Korea’s healthcare expenditure: a comprehensive study of public and private spending across health conditions, demographics, and payer types (2011–2020)
South Korea's healthcare expenditure rose significantly from $45.6 billion in 2011 to $76.9 billion in 2020, accounting for 9.3% of GDP. Despite universal health coverage, out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses remain high, particularly for women and the elderly. Public...
Who pays to treat malaria and how much? Analysis of the cost of illness, equity and economic burden of malaria in Uganda
Case management of malaria in Africa has significantly progressed over the past two decades, necessitating updated cost estimates for effective malaria control policies. In Uganda, a costing exercise revealed that the mean societal economic cost for treating suspected...