UHC Forward: Towards Universal Health Coverage

(Economic Times) - Chhattisgarh is set to become the first state to extend health insurance cover to all its unorganised sector workers, a step that will not only make healthcare accessible to all but also set a model for other states to follow.

The state has offered to pay the insurance premium from October 1 for all those not covered under the Centre's flagship health insurance scheme-the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY). The labour ministry, which implements the scheme across the country, has accepted the proposal.

Launched in April 2008, RSBY aims to provide annual health insurance cover of 30,000 each to below poverty line (BPL) families and some categories of unorganised sector workers.

Chhattisgarh government's decision will ensure that the poor and needy, who do not have BPL cards or are not covered under the Employees State Insurance Act, are not ignored by RSBY.

(Cross-posted from the Health Harmonization in Africa Financial Access to Health Services Community of Practice) - Cheickna Toure, Executive Vice President Technical Union of Malian Mutuality UTM, describes the experience of Mali on the computerization of health organizations in attempting to answer the question, "how the use of technology information can improve the collection of contributions in mutual health?"

*Il y a un peu plus d’un an, le gouvernement du Mali adoptait une stratégie nationale d’extension de la couverture maladie par les mutuelles de santé au bout d’un processus qui a regroupé les parties prenantes à la question de l’assurance maladie (gouvernement, organisations mutualistes, structures d’encadrement technique, partenaires techniques et financiers,). A des moments particuliers, il eut des voyages d’études dans certains pays africains notamment au Rwanda pour bien appréhender les facteurs de réussite des expériences conduites et les écueils à éviter.

(Oxford Journal: Health Policy and Planning) - The National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme was introduced in Ghana in 2004 as a pro-poor financing strategy aimed at removing financial barriers to health care and protecting all citizens from catastrophic health expenditures, which currently arise due to user fees and other direct payments. A comprehensive assessment of the financing and benefit incidence of health services in Ghana was undertaken. These analyses drew on secondary data from the Ghana Living Standards Survey (2005/2006) and from an additional household survey which collected data in 2008 in six districts covering the three main ecological zones of Ghana. Findings show that Ghana’s health care financing system is progressive, driven largely by the progressivity of taxes. The national health insurance levy (which is part of VAT) is mildly progressive while NHI contributions by the informal sector are regressive.

(Malaya Business Insight) - The fight for the reproductive health bill is far from finished. It is certain that discussions will continue not only on the controversial provisions opposed by the conservative Catholic hierarchy but also, perhaps even more importantly for poor Filipinos, on the broader topic of universal health care which is the stated theme of the present government’s health agenda.

The phrase “Universal Health Care” or UHC, a topic that has recently become a buzzword in health circles globally as health experts worry about the fact that large population groups in many countries, including the most powerful in the world, have inadequate access to good quality health care.

Here in the Philippines, we began serious discussions on this approach to health equity after the UP Centennial Lectures of 2008 revealed our health system’s sad record on equity.