7
Overview
compressing more consumption into a fixed life span. Through surveys, people have typically indicated higher expectations for a government role in health than in other social sectors, such as employment or pensions. By implication, people do not want to be left alone to navigate complex medical care and insurance markets in search of a product that may be life saving or bank breaking—or both, or neither. In brief, the health sector can be expected to take on more prominence in the political agenda of countries across ECA in the years to come. A road map to the report links the development challenge described here to the three key agendas discussed below (figure O.5). The development challenge corresponds to the ultimate policy objective of improving welfare, of which health (and thus the health agenda) is a major determinant. But people have many other spending priorities that matter for their well-being, too, and thus equally important is the issue of how to pay for better health without imposing undue burden on households or government. This is where the financing agenda fits in. Together, the health and financing agendas embrace three commonly identified policy objectives for health systems: improving population health outcomes, the financial protection of households that seek medical care, and the efficiency of government health spending. Finally, a cross-cutting institutional agenda affects performance across the board. FIGURE O.5
A Road Map to the Report A development challenge
HEALTH Chapter 3: Improving health
INCOME/CONSUMPTION Chapter 4: Improving financial protection Chapter 5: Improving efficiency
Financing agenda
Health agenda
WELFARE Chapter 2: Improving welfare
HEALTH SYSTEM INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS Chapter 6: Improving institutions Institutional agenda
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