Increasingly, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are considering establishing or expanding health insurance (HI) to achieve universal health coverage (UHC). However, the evidence on the impact of HI in LMICs over the last 20 years is mixed. The session will explore the motivations of a country to pursue health insurance, and what we have learned from the implementation of HI in LMICs. The session will focus on some of the challenges of launching and operating a new or existing national health insurance scheme - from the high-level policy design choices that policy makers must make to the day-to-day functions of running a health insurance agency.
Panelists
Dr Michael M. Amara, Sierra Leone Social Health Insurance Team Lead, Ministry of Health of Sierra Leone
Reem Hafez, Senior Health Economist, World Bank
Prof Winnie Yip, Professor of the Practice of Global Health Policy and Economics, Harvard School of Public Health
Dr Hasbullah Thabrany, Chief of Party, Thinkwell Indonesia, Chairman of Indonesia Health Economics Association