University of Florence Reports Findings in Health Policy and Management (Health Coverage and Financial Protection in Uganda: A Political Economy Perspective): Health and Medicine – Health Policy and Management

2021 OCT 26 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Health and Medicine - Health Policy and Management is the subject of a report. According to news reporting from Florence, Italy, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “As countries health financing policies are expected to support progress towards universal health coverage (UHC), an analysis of these policies is particularly relevant in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In 2001, the government of Uganda abolished user-fees to improve accessibility to health services for the population.”

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from the University of Florence, “However, after almost 20 years, the incidence of catastrophic health expenditures is still very high, and the health financing system does not provide a pooled prepayment scheme at national level such as an integrated health insurance scheme. This article aims at analysing the Ugandan experience of health financing reforms with a specific focus on financial protection. Financial protection represents a key pillar of UHC and has been central to health systems reforms even before the launch of the UHC definition. The qualitative study adopts a political economy perspective and it is based on a desk review of relevant documents and a multi-level stakeholder analysis based on 60 key informant interviews (KIIs) in the health sector. We find that the current political situation is not yet conducive for implementing a UHC system with widespread financial protection: dominant interests and ideologies do not create a net incentive to implement a comprehensive scheme for this purpose. The health financing landscape remains extremely fragmented, and community-based initiatives to improve health coverage are not supported by a clear government stewardship.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “By examining the negotiation process for health financing reforms through a political economy perspective, this article intends to advance the debate about politically-tenable strategies for achieving UHC and widespread financial protection for the population in LMICs.”

For more information on this research see: Health Coverage and Financial Protection in Uganda: A Political Economy Perspective. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 2021. International Journal of Health Policy and Management can be contacted at: Kerman Univ Medical Sciences, Jahad Blvd, Kerman, 7619813159, Iran.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Mario Biggeri, Dept. of Economics and Management, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. Additional authors for this research include Maria Nannini and Giovanni Putoto.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.34172/ijhpm.2021.116. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Publisher contact information for the International Journal of Health Policy and Management is: Kerman Univ Medical Sciences, Jahad Blvd, Kerman, 7619813159, Iran.

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