Health financing in the context of the right to health 2012, para. 42
Paragraph- Paragraph text
- Social health insurance is a pooling mechanism funded by compulsory prepayments collected through individual and organizational contributions supplemented by taxation. Social health insurance programmes are generally administered by the State, which uses funds raised through compulsory contributions and tax revenues to purchase health goods and services for the insured. In contrast to pooling mechanisms that comprise smaller, fragmented pools, social health insurance programmes establish sufficiently large pools, through compulsory contributions, to facilitate effective cross-subsidization of financial and health risks across large populations. Social health insurance thus increases utilization of and promotes equity in access to health facilities, goods and services and affords higher levels of financial protection for the poor. Social health insurance programmes may take the form of single payer systems, which tend to encourage efficient health spending and lower administrative costs, or multiple payer systems, which encourage competition and allow other entities to purchase health services. Social health insurance programmes are therefore one example of a pooling mechanism that promotes the realization of the right to health.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Paragraph type
- Other
- Reference
- SR Health, Report to the UNGA (2012), A/67/302, para. 42.
- Paragraph number
- 42
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Date added
73 relationships, 73 entities