Inequality and health systems in context / Greg Ruiters and Robert van Niekerk -- Competing policy choices and the debate on national health insurance in South Africa / Greg Ruiters ... [et al.] -- The historical roots of a national health system in South Africa / Robert van Niekerk -- Health policy reform in the last days of apartheid and the dilemmas facing the ANC / Robert van Niekerk -- Public and private health care in southern Africa / Greg Ruiters -- The growth of private health care in Zimbabwe up to 2008 / Elijah Munyuki and Shorai Jasi -- Medical aid societies and equity in Zimbabwe, 2008-11 / Shepherd Shamu ... [et al.] -- The growth of the private health sector in South Africa up to 2007 / Yoswa M. Dambisya and Sehlapelo I. Mokgoatsane -- The political economy of the health industry and the private health funding crisis / Di McIntyre -- Proposals and prospects for national health insurance in South Africa / Di McIntyre -- Lessons from international experience for national health insurance in South Africa / Di McIntyre -- Towards universal health coverage in southern Africa / Greg Ruiters ... [et al.].
Summary:
"The growth in private health care for the middle classes has resulted in deeply segregated and unequal health care, with poor people being relegated to under-resourced and unresponsive public systems, and wealthy minorities receiving world-class treatment at very high prices. This book examines the scope for health care reform in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Both countries are undergoing significant attempts at reforming inequitable, private sector-dominated, health care systems in the context of fragile, negotiated, social settlements. In South Africa, the government is moving towards introducing a national health insurance scheme that holds the historic promise of introducing social solidarity and effective health care for all its citizens. However, key aspects of the proposed scheme remain unresolved and need to be widely debated. In Zimbabwe, mandatory national health insurance has been discussed for decades without any conclusion being reached or a system implemented. This option needs to be revisited as the economy stabilizes and confidence in governance improves. Based on extensive research, the contributors to this volume examine health care reform in historical context, analyze the views of key stakeholders, and reflect on current proposals for better health financing and more people-centered health systems, based on the principles of universality and social solidarity. Universal Health in Southern Africa is essential reading for academics, health professionals, and policy makers concerned with the historical, ideological, and institutional background to the current policy debate on the commercialization of health care and proposed alternatives, such as a national health system"--Back cover.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.