Course Topics

• Health economics theory relevant to health financing
• The role of health financing in a health system
• Basic health financing functions (collection, pooling, purchasing)
• Historical development in health financing in low and middle income countries: from free health care to user fees to social health protection
• Concept and practice of Universal Health Coverage – health financing and equity considerations
• Universal Health Coverage and the Migration/Refugee Crisis
• Health insurance development in high and low middle income countries: micro-health insurance, tax-based insurance, social health insurance
• Innovative purchasing options in the health sector: from passive to strategic purchasing

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course participants will be able to:

• Recognise the positive and normative foundations of health care financing, with specific reference to the discourse on health systems reform, universal health coverage and equity
• Differentiate health financing functions and models in any given health system context.
• Compare and analyse the basic features of health care financing mechanisms in high-, middle-, and low-income countries, including situations pertaining to migrant and refugee crises
• Critically appraise the roles of the public and private sector in health care financing in different contexts
• Differentiate the tools used in the development and assessment of financing mechanisms and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses
• Compare and appraise the value of alternative viable health financing options to answer health system challenges in their respective countries