Towards Universal Health Care in Emerging Economies

This book explores how political, social, economic and institutional factors in eight emerging economies have combined to generate diverse outcomes in their move towards universal health care. Structured in three parts, the book begins by framing social policy as an integral system in its own right. The following two parts go on to discuss the opportunities and challenges of achieving universal health care in Thailand, Brazil and China, and survey the obstacles facing India, Indonesia, Russia, South Africa and Venezuela in the reform of their health care systems. The evolution of social policy systems and the cases in this volume together demonstrate that universalism in health care is continuously redefined by the interactions between diverse political forces and through specific policy processes. At a time when international and national-level discourse around health systems has once again brought universalism to the fore, this edited collection offers a timely contribution to the field in its thorough analysis of health care reform in emerging economies.

Autorentext

Ilcheong Yi is Research Coordinator at UNRISD. Born in the Republic of Korea, he was trained as both a political scientist and social policy analyst. He specializes in the issues of poverty, social policy, labour policy and historical analysis of the economic and social development process.

Zusammenfassung
Universal health coverage refers to access to key promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative health interventions for all at an affordable cost, thereby achieving equity in access. The resolution on universal health coverage, which was unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2012 makes achieving universal health coverage one of the top priorities in development goals. But 'how' remains an open question. This edited volume presents lessons on political and institutional drivers and challenges of expanding health coverage in development contexts. These lessons are drawn from analysis of eight emerging economies roughly categorized into two groups: Brazil, China and Thailand, which demonstrate significant progress in actual coverage as well as legal guarantee; and India, Indonesia, Russia, South Africa and Venezuela, which are cases in which there is a legal guarantee or policy framework for universal health coverage, but less satisfactory performance in terms of actual coverage. Based on a broadly shared framework, 'public sector systems of provision', which emphasizes both the distinctive nature, actors and processes involved in the provision of health care and the context in which health care systems evolve, all chapters address key questions related to the structural, political and institutional constraints and opportunities of expanding health coverage. Investigating the relationship between the health care system and the policies and institutions of other social and economic policy sectors, the chapters explore the institutional and political factors that facilitate the expansion of health coverage in developing countries with diverse social, political and economic contexts. Paying special attention to the historical trajectories of institutional and policy linkages between the health care system, other policy sectors, and political and social coalitions, the chapters offer lessons on available and relevant political and institutional arrangements for social policy in diverse developing countries that will be of interest to both academics and practitioners.

Inhalt

1. Introduction: The Universalization of Health Care in Emerging Economies; Ilcheong Yi, Elizabeth Koechlein and Armando de Negri Filho.- Part I: Analysing Common Pressures and Diverse Social Policy Responses.- 2. The Continuing Enigmas of Social Policy; Ben Fine.- 3. Universalism and Health: The Battle of Ideas; Susanne MacGregor.- Part II: Moving Towards Universal Health Care: Opportunities and Challenges.- 4. The Politics of Health Care Reform in Thailand; Erik Martinez Kuhonta.- 5. The Impacts of Universalization: A Case Study on Thailand's Social Protection and Universal Health Coverage; Prapaporn Tivayanond Mongkhonvanit and Piya Hanvoravongchai.- 6. Political and Institutional Drivers of Social Security Universalization in Brazil; Marcus André Melo.- 7. Universalizing Health Care in Brazil: Opportunities and Challenges; Ana Luiza d´Ávila Viana, Hudson Pacífico da Silva and Ilcheong Yi.- 8. What Kind of Welfare State is Emerging in China?; Stein Ringen and Kinglun Ngok.- 9. China's Universal Health Care Coverage; William Hsiao, Mingqiang Li and Shufang Zhang.- Part III: Obstacles to Moving Towards Universal Health Care.- 10. Constraints on Universal Health Care in the Russian Federation: Inequality, Informality and the Failures of Mandatory Health Insurance Reforms; Linda J. Cook.- 11. The Fragmented Social Protection System in India: Five Key Rights but Two Missing; Santosh Mehrotra, Neha Kumra and Ankita Gandhi.- 12. The Drivers of Universal Health Care in South Africa: The Role of Ideas, Actors and Institutions; Rebecca Surender.- 13. Social Policy in Venezuela: Bucking Neoliberalism or Unsustainable Clientelism?; Julia Buxton.- 14. Expanding Social Security in Indonesia: The Current Processes and Challenges; Asep Suryahadi, Vita Febriany and Athia Yumna.