A strong health policy to study is Universal Health Coverage (UHC), especially how it is
carried out in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). UHC works to make sure that
everyone can get the health care they need, whenever and wherever they need it,
without facing difficult financial problems. Although the benefits of universal health
coverage are obvious, putting it into practice is difficult because of limited resources and
factors like social conditions that affect health (Baum et al., 2014).
Benefits of Implementing Universal Health Coverage
According to Morestin (2012) the following are the benefits of the universal health
coverage implementation:-
Better Health Results
Universal health coverage can help improve healthin many ways.
It can lower the number of deaths for babies and mothers, increase how long people
live, and reduce the spread of diseases that are easy to catch.
Reduction in health disparities
By making sure everyone has access to basic health services, Universal Health
Coverage can help reduce the differences in health results between people with
different levels of wealth, between those living in cities and those in rural areas, and
among various ethnic groups.
Economic benefits
A healthier population works better and helps the economy grow. UHC helps people
and families avoid serious financial problems caused by healthcare costs, stopping
them from spending all their money on medical bills and becoming poor because of it.
Social justice
Universal health coverage is a key part of social justice, making sure that healthcare is
a right for everyone, not just for some people.
Weaknesses of Implementing UHC
World Health Organization (2004), highlights the weaknesses of the universal health
coverage as explained below:-
Resource Constraints
Putting UHC into action needs a lot of money, which can be a big problem, especially in
low-income countries that don't have much money and have other important things to
spend it on.
Infrastructure and workforce gaps
Many low- and middle-income countries do not have enough healthcare facilities like
hospitals, clinics, and diagnostic centers, and they also lack enough trained medical
staff to offer full healthcare services to everyone in their population.
Weak health systems
To achieve universal health coverage, a robust and properly working health system is
needed. This system should have good management, an effective supply chain, and
strong quality control processes.
Political and governance challenges
Political instability, corruption, and poor government systems can slow down the effort to
provide universal health coverage. These issues can cause resources to be used in a
way that is not effective and make it hard to hold people in charge accountable for their
actions.
Potential Issues in Implementation
Accessibility and Equity
Making sure that everyone, including people in distant or less supported areas, can
access services is [Link] includes people with disabilities or other special
needs, but it's hard to do.
Service quality
Service quality should be a top priority when implementing UHC, ensuring that the
services offered are of high standard. Poor quality services can make people lose trust
and weaken the whole project.
User fees and cost sharing
User fees and cost-sharing systems can make it hard for poor people to get access to
services, which might undo the good effects of Universal Health Coverage.
Sustainability
To ensure long-term success, providing universal health coverage needs to be
affordable and maintainable through proper financial planning. Depending on outside
money can lead to problems and unpredictability.
Questions for Discussions
When thinking about how different factors like poverty, education, and housing are
connected to a person's health, how can efforts to provide universal health coverage
work well with these bigger issues to make long-term improvements in health?
How can low-income and middle-income countries use technology and new ideas, like
telemedicine and digital health tools, to deal with problems such as poor infrastructure
and a lack of trained workers when trying to provide universal health coverage?
References
Baum, F., Lawless, A., Delany, T., Macdougall, C., Williams, C., Broderick, D., Wildgoose,
D., Harris, E., McDermott, D., Kickbusch, I., Popay, J., & Marmot, M. (2014). Evaluation of
health in all policies: concept, theory and application. Health Promotion International, 29 (1),
i130-i142. [Link]
Morestin, F. (2012, September). A framework for analyzing public policies: Practical guide.
National Collaborating Centre for Health Public Policy. Institut national de sante publique
Quebec. [Link]
RHN 12th annual conference. Evaluation of health policies and plans. (2004, November 11).
World Health Organization.
[Link]
e.-evaluation-of-health-policies-and-plans
