Universal health coverage: A political struggle and governance challenge

S.L. Greer and C.A. Méndez

American Journal of Public Health, 2015, vol. 105, S637-S639

Abstract: Universal health coverage has become a rallying cry in health policy, but it is often presented as a consensual, technical project. It is not. A review of the broader international literature on the origins of universal coverage shows that it is intrinsically political and cannot be achieved without recognition of its dependence on, and consequences for, both governance and politics. On one hand, a variety of comparative research has shownthathealthcoverage is associated with democratic political accountability. Democratization, and in particular left-wing parties, givesgovernmentsparticular cause to expand health coverage.Ontheotherhand, governance, the ways states make and implement decisions,shapesanydecisionto strive for universal health coverage and the shape of its implementation.

Keywords: decision making; economics; health care delivery; health care policy; human; insurance; organization and management; politics, Decision Making; Health Care Reform; Health Policy; Health Services Accessibility; Humans; Politics; Universal Coverage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2015.302733_9

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302733

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