Making Fair Choices on the Path to UHC: Applying Principles to Difficult Cases
2017
Progress toward universal health coverage (UHC) requires making difficult trade-offs. The World Health Organization (WHO) Consultative Group on Equity and UHC has endorsed the principles for making such decisions. These principles include maximizing population health, priority for the worse off, and shielding people from health-related financial risks. But how should one apply these principles in particular cases, and how should one adjudicate between them when their demands conflict?
This article by some members of the Consultative Group and a diverse group of health policy professionals addresses these questions. It considers three stylized versions of actual policy dilemmas. Each of these cases pertains to one of the three key dimensions of progress toward UHC: which services to cover first, which populations to prioritize for coverage, and how to move from out-of-pocket expenditures to prepayment with pooling of funds. The cases are simplified to highlight common trade-offs. While specific recommendations are made, the primary aim is to demonstrate both the form and substance of the reasoning involved in striking a fair balance between competing interests on the road to UHC.
Making Fair Choices on the Path to UHC: Applying Principles to Difficult Cases
Source:
Voorhoeve A, Tan-Torres T, Kapiriri L et al. Making Fair Choices on the Path to Universal Health Coverage: Applying Principles to Difficult Cases. Health Systems & Reform 2017; 3 (4). http://dcp-3.org/resources/making-fair-choices-path-universal-health-coverage-applying-principles-difficult-cases