Benefit package is crucial for implementing universal health coverage (UHC). This editorial analyses how the benefit package of the Thai Universal Coverage Scheme (UC Scheme) evolved from an implicit comprehensive package which covered all conditions and interventions (with a few exceptions), to additional explicit positive lists. In 2002 when the Thai UC Scheme was lau...

Introduction: Development of Complementary Health Insurance (CHI) benefit packages has always been one of the main challenges of Health Insurance Organizations in Iran. Records related to developing a health insurance package in Iran show that there is no specific criterion for developing such packages.  This study aimed at developing criteria for providing CHI benefit packages...

Background Both rising healthcare costs and the global financial crisis have fueled a search for policy tools in order to avoid unsustainable future financing of essential health benefits. The scope of essential health benefits (the range of services covered) and depth of coverage (the proportion of costs of the covered benefits that is covered publicly) are corresponding variables in determini...

background both rising healthcare costs and the global financial crisis have fueled a search for policy tools in order to avoid unsustainable future financing of essential health benefits. the scope of essential health benefits (the range of services covered) and depth of coverage (the proportion of costs of the covered benefits that is covered publicly) are corresponding variables in determini...

The notion of a defined 'core package of essential health care services' has appeared in many different health reform proposals in the 1990s. This paper attempts to explore the possible objectives of the 'core package' component of health care reform. Two board applications are apparent: the use of essential packages to ration scarce public funds and the incorporation of a minimum benefit packa...

BACKGROUND Since 2003 and 2005, National Pilot Medical Financial Assistance Scheme (MFA) has been implemented in rural and urban areas of China to improve the poorest families' accessibility to health services. Local governments of the pilot areas formulated various benefit packages. Comparative evaluation research on the effect of different benefit packages is urgently needed to provide eviden...