Description
Book SynopsisExamining the ways and extent to which systemic factors affect health outcomes with regard to quality, affordability and access to curative healthcare, this explorative book compares the relative merits of tax-funded Beveridge systems and insurance-based Bismarck systems.
The Law and Policy of Healthcare Financing charts and compares healthcare system outcomes throughout 11 countries, from the UK to Colombia. Thematic chapters investigate the economic and legal explanations for the relevant similarities, variations and trends across the globe. Concluding that systemic factors may be less significant than previously believed, this comprehensive book notes that no one system consistently outperforms the others, yet incentives and funding improvements may lift performances across all curative healthcare systems.
Analytical and comparative, this book will be of interest to academics working in the fields of health law and health economics. Public authorities including health ministries, policymakers and international health organisations will also find this to be an invaluable resource.
Contributors include: F. Bachner, J. Bobek, J. Boertjens, P. Bogetoft, J.M. Burke, F. Dewallens, I. Durand-Zaleski, A. Geissler, C. Góngora Torres, M. Guy, T. Haanperä, J. Janus, S. Jerabkova, L. Lepuschütz, J. Lombard, M. Mikkers, G. O'Nolan, M.J. Perez-Villadoniga, H. Platou, K. Polin, W. Quentin, W. Sauter, V. Shestalova, K.H. Søvig, V. Stephani, A. van den Heever, J. van Manen, J. Vermeulen
Trade Review'How we pay for our healthcare systems is nothing short of a test of our success as communities and nations: healthcare preserves and promotes human dignity. The balance between rising demands and costs, access for all, and efficiency and quality is pursued in different ways. Studies like this - even though comparable data is scarce - help us see possible better ways forward. The editors have assembled an impressive team, and their comparative research design yields rich insights.' --Tamara Hervey, University of Sheffield, UK
'Due to aging populations and technological advancements, countries are facing the challenge of improving healthcare quality, while maintaining access and containing cost. Focusing on the hospital sector, this book discusses how a variety of 11 countries try to meet this challenge. Specific attention is paid to the role of the regulatory framework, market structure, rationing and reimbursement methods. Although no best practice emerges, this book may be very useful for policymakers and anyone else interested in cross-country comparison.'
--Frederik T. Schut, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Table of ContentsContents: Introduction: healthcare financing – an international comparison of models and outcomes Jos Boertjens, Johan van Manen, Misja Mikkers and Wolf Sauter PART I THEMATIC CHAPTERS 1. Explaining America’s spendthrift healthcare system: the enduring effects of public regulation on private competition William M. Sage 2. Effective access to healthcare services abroad under the EU Directive on Cross-Border Patients’ Rights Jarleth M. Burke 3. A legal perspective on tax-based versus insurance-based healthcare systems: comparing England and the Netherlands Jos Boertjens and Mary Guy 4. A theoretical model of the determinants of waiting lists: an application to the Spanish national health system Ana Rodríguez-Álvarez and Maria J. Perez-Villadoniga 5. Financial incentives to change the healthcare landscape: a case study Josine Janus 6. Population-based financing: the future of healthcare? Peter Bogetoft, Misja Mikkers and Victoria Shestalova PART II COUNTRY REPORTS 7. Country report: Austria Julia Bobek, Lena Lepuschütz and Florian Bachner 8. Country report: Belgium Filip Dewallens and Julie Vermeulen 9. Country report: Czech Republic – hospital financing in the Czech Republic Silvie Jerabkova 10. Country report: Colombia – approach to healthcare financing in Colombia and its impact on quality, affordability and competition Catalina Góngora Torres 11. Country report: England Tuomas Haanperä 12. Country report: France Isabelle Durand-Zaleski and Johan van Manen 13. Country report: Germany Katherine Polin, Wilm Quentin, Victor Stephani and Alexander Geissler 14. Country report: Ireland John Lombard and Gerald O’Nolan 15. Country report: the Netherlands Johan van Manen 16. Country report: Norway Karl Harald Søvig and Harald Platou 17. Country report: South Africa Alex van den Heever Index
