With less than 5% spending ion health, the Sri Lankan Government runs public hospitals that offer ‘free’ healthcare on a walk-in basis with no extra cost. While this is an achievement of no ordinary means and has impressive geographical reach even though financed by regressive indirect taxation, the quality of services and infrastructure are often limited to suffice for the growing cases of non-communicable diseases and an ageing population.
Private health sector accounts for over half of the national health expenditure. This has seen more than 50% increase in out of pocket expenditures due to decades of underinvestment and incentivized private-sector expansion. The public health system is failing to meet the demand for services despite a UHC policy (2018). Under the circumstances will a Public-private partnership (PPP) model work?
This research article originally published in Biomed Central gives insights into both healthcare models in Sri Lanka and studies the gaps and contestations between them both politically and economically. It analyses the Ministry of Health’s plans for PPP and how much this will serve the country’s UHC agenda.
The article was originally published in Biomed central. Please click here to read to entire piece.
Image Credits: The BMJ
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