OBJECT The objective of this study was to compare the cost of deep brain stimulation (DBS) performed awake versus asleep at a single US academic health center and to compare costs across the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) Clinical Database. METHODS Inpatient and outpatient demographic and hospital financial data for patients receiving a neurostimulator lead implant (from the first qua...

Background: Universal health coverage (UHC) aims to provide access to basic health services with no financial constraints. In Iran, the major challenges to the implementation of the UHC plan include aggregation and augmentation of resources, something which could threaten the dimension of population coverage and health service delivery. Therefore, this study reviews the strengths and weaknesses...

This article examines why and how a national health insurance (NHI) proposal targeting universal health coverage (UHC) in Nigeria developed over time. The study involved document reviews, in-depth interviews, a further review of preliminary analysis by relevant actors and use of a stakeholder analysis approach. The need for strategies to improve healthcare funding during the economic recession ...

BACKGROUND Most low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) rely significantly on private health expenditure in the form of out-of-pocket payments (OOP) and voluntary health insurance (VHI). This paper assesses VHI expenditure trends in LMIC and explores possible explanations. This illuminates challenges deriving from changes in VHI expenditure as countries aim to progress equitably towards univers...

binagwaho and colleagues’ perspective piece provided a timely reflection on the experience of rwanda in achieving the millennium development goals (mdgs) and a proposal of 5 principles to carry forward in post-2015 health development. this commentary echoes their viewpoints and offers three lessons for health policy reforms consistent with these principles beyond 2015. specifically, we argue th...

Outlined in Sustainable Development Goal 3.8, universal health coverage (UHC) ensures all people can access affordable and equitable essential services without facing economic challenges. Advised by the World Health Organization (WHO), countries strengthen their systems subsequently UHC establishing a robust system on framework of service delivery; workforce; information; medical products, vacc...

Human resources for health (HRH) will have to be strengthened if universal health coverage (UHC) is to be achieved. Existing health workforce benchmarks focus exclusively on the density of physicians, nurses and midwives and were developed with the objective of attaining relatively high coverage of skilled birth attendance and other essential health services of relevance to the health Millenniu...

BACKGROUND Primary healthcare (PHC) is essential for equitable access and cost-effective healthcare. This makes PHC a key factor in the global strategy for universal health coverage (UHC). Implementing PHC requires an understanding of the health system under prevailing circumstances, but for most countries, no data are available. OBJECTIVES This paper describes and analyses the health systems...