Social Insurance as Health Care System Financing in Pakistan: Is it a Solution to all Healthcare related Problems?

Abstract

Social health insurance based financing is one of the many mechanisms for collecting and pooling the funds to health services, along with tax-financing, private health insurance, community insurance, and out of pocket. It should not be considered the only solution for health system financing, and it is not always raising additional funding for health system.1 A health system is the organization of persons, institutions, and resources that deliver health care services to fulfill the health needs of the populations. A health system consists of all organizations, people and actions whose primary intent is to promote, restore or maintain health. This includes the efforts carried out for improving determinants of health.2 A health system includes public sector facilities and private facilities, which deliver preventive, curative and personal health services. It also includes behaviour change programs, vector-control campaigns, health insurance system, inter-sectoral coordination and legislation. The goals for health system include providing good health for its citizens, being responsiveness to the expectations of the population it serves, and fair funding services. The achievements towards these is based on how a health system carries out following key functions; provision of health care services, resource generation, financing, and stewardship.1