Given the growing complexity of health care, current global demographic and epidemiologic trends, adverse economic conditions in many parts of the world, and limited national budgets, it is increasingly difficult for policymakers and regulators to ensure continued access to affordable and high-quality health care. Decision-makers must implement policies that support efficient, equitable, and sustainable health systems. To that end, this special issue has three aims: (1) to analyse trends in health-care financing in a range of countries with varying degrees of economic development and political organization; (2) to review the viability of different financing models based on international experiences; and (3) to examine how efficiency in health care systems can be achieved without sacrificing quality. The issue consists of three sections and includes contributions from academic experts, health-care practitioners, and members of the broader stakeholder community.
Introductory Editorial
Panos Kanavos and Olivier J. Wouters - Health Care after the Great Recession: Financing Options for Sustainable and High-quality Health Systems
An Appraisal of Financing Health Care Options
Aris Angelis, David Tordrup and Panos Kanavos - Is the Funding of Public National Health Systems Sustainable over the Long Term? Evidence from Eight OECD Countries
Olivier J. Wouters and Martin McKee - Private Financing of Health Care in Times of Economic Crisis: a Review of the Evidence
Walter W. Holland - Health Improvement in a Period of Austerity: a Public Health Perspective
Joan Costa-Font, Christophe Courbage and Peter Zweifel - Policy Dilemmas in Financing Long-term Care in Europe
Mackenzie Mills, Nicola Boekstein, Maxine Mackintosh and Panos Kanavos - Towards High Quality Health Care and Sustainable Financing – the Role of Health Care Programmes
Tools to improve efficiency and measure performance in health care delivery
Jonathan Cylus, Irene Papanicolas and Peter C. Smith - Using Data Envelopment Analysis to Address the Challenges of Comparing Health System Efficiency
John S. F. Wright, Anthony J. G. Barron, Sara M. B. Shah and Corinna Klingler - Convergence, Divergence and Hybridity: A Regulatory Governance Perspective on Health Technology Assessment in England and Germany
Aris Angelis, Panos Kanavos and Gilberto Montibeller - Resource Allocation and Priority Setting in Health Care: A Multi-criteria Decision Analysis Problem of Value?
Panos Kanavos, Alessandra Ferrario, Giovanni Tafuri and Paolo Siviero - Managing Risk and Uncertainty in Health Technology Introduction: The Role of Managed Entry Agreements
Country Case Studies and Stakeholder Views
Gabriel E. Novick - Health Care Organization and Delivery in Argentina: A Case of Fragmentation, Inefficiency and Inequality
Hector E. Castro - Advancing HTA in Latin America: The Policy Process of Setting up an HTA Agency in Colombia
Jeremy Lim - Sustainable Health Care Financing: The Singapore Experience
Wei Yang and Xun Wu - Providing Comprehensive Health Insurance Coverage in Rural China: a Critical Appraisal of the New Cooperative Medical Scheme and Ways Forward
Karl T. Muth - The Way Forward: A Look at Liberalization of LDC Health Insurance Markets
Anna Zawada, Katarzyna Kolasa, Christian Kronborg, Daniel Rabczenko, Tomasz Rybnik, Jørgen T. Lauridsen, Urszula Ceglowska and Tomasz Hermanowski - A Comparison of the Burden of Out-of-Pocket Health Payments in Denmark, Germany and Poland
Fernando Arnaiz - New Funding Models Help Improve Access to Healthcare
Jean Mossman, Mary G. Baker and Ingrid Kössler - Patient Power as a Driver for Change: Reality or Rhetoric?
