Health financing: designing and implementing pro-poor policies Sara Bennett, Lucy Gilson DFID Health Systems Resource Centre UK Department for International Development, 2001 Available online as PDF file [26p.] at: http://www.healthsystemsrc.org/Pdfs/Health_financing_pro-poor.pdf "..........Health financing reforms are a core part of health sector development in low and middle income countries.The current focus of the international debate is on the need to move away from excessive reliance on out-of-pocket payment towards a system which incorporates a greater element of risk pooling (for example through health insurance) and thus affords a greater protection for the poor. This paper summarises what is known about the effects of the main health care financing systems, and how they can be designed and implemented to be 'pro-poor'....." Content: The principal financing mechanisms Financing mechanisms and the poor: arguments and evidence - Tax-based financing - Social insurance financing - Private health insurance - User fees - Community-based health insurance Designing and implementing pro-poor financing schemes Integrating a concern for the poor during the design phase Building capacity to develop pro-poor schemes Using financing mechanisms to promote high quality and responsive services for the poor Designing and implementing exemption mechanisms Monitoring and evaluating impact on the poor Key lessons Further reading -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PAHO/WHO Website: http://www.paho.org/English/HDP/equidad-list-about.htm EQUIDAD List - Archives: http://listserv.paho.org/Archives/equidad.html