Access to health care for all? User fees plus a Health Equity Fund in Sotnikum, Cambodia.

Barriers to access and the purchasing function of health equity funds: lessons from Cambodia.

PROBLEM High out-of-pocket payments and user fees with unfunded exemptions limit access to health services for the poor. Health equity funds (HEF) emerged in Cambodia as a strategic purchasing mechanism used to fund exemptions and reduce the burden of health-care costs on people on very low incomes. Their impact on access to health services must be carefully examined. APPROACH Evidence from t...

Improving access to hospital care for the poor: comparative analysis of four health equity funds in Cambodia.

There is a large body of evidence that user fees in the health sector create exclusion. Health equity funds attempt to improve access to health care services for the poorest by paying the provider on their behalf. This paper reviews four hospital-based health equity funds in Cambodia and draws lessons for future operations. It investigates the practical questions of 'who should do what and how'...

Improving access for the poorest to public sector health services: insights from Kirivong Operational Health District in Cambodia.

This article presents research findings into the effectiveness of an innovative equity fund approach to improving access to public sector health services for the poor in Kirivong Operational Health District in Cambodia. The operational health district is the lowest organizational level in the Cambodian health system, providing services through health centres and a single referral hospital. An e...

Considering equity in health sector reform, Case study of a New Deal in Sotnikum, Cambodia

Preserving Equity in Health in Cambodia: Health Equity Funds and Prospects for Replication

Responding to budget shortages, many developing nations around the world have adopted formal or informal systems of user fees for health care in public hospitals and health centers. In most countries user fee proceeds represent a small share of total public health facility recurrent costs, but they tend to account for a significant proportion of the resources required to pay for non-personnel c...