As a contribution to the search for suitable and sustainable solutions to finance rising medical care expenditures, the book proposes a typology of healthcare financing and insurance schemes, based on the dimensions of basic vs. supplementary services and mandatory vs. voluntary coverage, to analyse the design and the complex interactions between various financing and insurance arrangements in several OECD countries. This study provides a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the financial and organisational structures of different countries' healthcare financing and insurance schemes. Its main contributions are the development of a novel and rigorous theoretical framework analysing the economic rationales for the optimal design of healthcare financing and insurance schemes, and an empirical and institutional analysis investigating the consequences for efficiency and affordability of the complex interactions between basic and supplementary sources of financing.

Reviews

From the reviews:

"The purpose is to provide 'insights on the institutional and regulatory design of public and private' financing of healthcare in some OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development) countries. ... It could be used by high-level masters and doctoral students interested in public policy, health policy, or health services research. ... This book is narrowly focused and reads more like a research study than an informative, instructional text. ... There are very good comparison tables listing basic and supplemental services among OECD selected countries." (Carole Ann Kenner, Doody's Review Service, December, 2010)



Book Information
ISBN 9783642107931
Author Francesco Paolucci
Format Hardback
Page Count 115
Imprint Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. K
Publisher Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. KG