Europe and Central Asia Knowledge Brief
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Restructuring Regional Health Systems In Russia
The delivery of health services in Russia is a federal, regional and municipal responsibility. Reform of the regional health systems, which suffer from over-reliance on curative and inpatient care, deteriorating infrastructure and equipment, and poor quality of services, is a major challenge for the country. From 2003-2008, the World Bank helped strengthen the stewardship capacity of Russia's Federal Ministry of Health and Social Development (MOHSD) and restructure health systems in two pilot regions: the Chuvash Republic and Voronezh oblast. In both regions, hospital bed numbers were reduced while simultaneously increasing service delivery capacity at the primary care, specialized ambulatory, and long-term care facility levels through the introduction of new technologies, clinical protocols, and resource allocation mechanisms that link payments to performance.
Redesigning Health Care in ECA : Some Lessons from the UK
The countries in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) have been struggling to deliver good, affordable health care to their populations. Indeed, life expectancy gains in the region have been significantly lower than in other middle or high-income countries, and in some ECA countries the relative low level of public sector funding to cover the cost of free medical care that is already promised by the governments to their citizens has consistently hindered access to quality services and led to a significant increase in out-of-pocket spending by patients for healthcare. The main challenge now is to redesign health systems to effectively address the changing health needs of the population, chiefly the increase in non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and injuries, as the leading causes of ill-health, premature mortality and disability.
Competition in Health Insurance
This knowledge brief presents the key findings of a recent World Bank report on, 'health insurance and competition'. The report examines whether competition helps multiple insurers better manage health expenditures by, for example, contracting with more efficient providers or directing consumers towards less costly care (i.e. consumers who use generic drugs pay lower premiums or co-payments). The Netherlands, Switzerland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic are some of the countries that already have multiple and competing insurance systems in place.
Battle Against Tuberculosis : Some Gains in Russia
Across Russia, the deep socio-economic crisis of the 1990s and early 2000s provided fertile ground for the spread of Tuberculosis (TB). Indeed, as noted, 'people who were already living very precariously saw their real incomes drop by 25 percent to 30 percent at a time when government spending was also falling.' As a result, social and health conditions deteriorated, and TB spread rapidly. Russia also had one of the highest rates of imprisonment in the world that, coupled with adverse conditions in prisons, increased the risk of TB, HIV and other infectious diseases among prisoners. The Project was designed in accordance with the federal targeted social disease prevention and control program (2002-2006). About 80 percent of project funds were allocated for TB control with the goal of contributing to a leveling-off or reduction in morbidity, mortality and transmission of TB. The project covered 79 of the 83 regions across the vast Russian territory - from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, strengthening both the civilian and prison health systems.
Action Needed : Spiraling Drug Prices Empty Russian Pockets
In large measure, this is due to the relatively low level of public health spending in the country (about 3.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2008) that underlines the significant gap between the constitutional commitment to a range of medical care services and the actual funding to pay for them. While drugs are supposed to be provided to hospital patients free of charge, an estimated 80 percent of inpatients still have to pay part of the costs of their medicines and most outpatients must purchase them from pharmacies. The outpatient drug program under mandatory health insurance covers only around 16 million people (11 percent of the total population in the country), with more than half of them opting to receive cash rather than in-kind benefits under the 2005 'monetization' of prescription drug benefits. Those who continue with the in-kind benefits appear to be the ones greatest in need of drugs. The situation is further aggravated by the country's ineffective enforcement of controls on wholesale and retail mark-ups for medicines. Household expenditure on drugs accounted for about 30 percent of total health expenditure in Russia, as compared to 12 percent in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in 2008.
World Bank Health Sector Assists Crisis-Hit Eastern Europe Countries
In an environment characterized by growing financing constraints, the health sectors of Eastern European countries are under increased pressure to perform efficiently. Policy-makers are challenged to ensure access to health care and financial protection for vulnerable populations. To mitigate the impact of the economic crisis on government budgets, sector spending and household income, the World Bank is providing fiscal support to a number of Eastern European countries. In the health sector, these loan programs include technical assistance and policy dialogue for reforms. This knowledge brief describes how the World Bank is collaborating in health sector reform with four countries Hungary, Latvia, Poland, and Romania. It focuses on issues related to the economic crisis that threaten the financial sustainability of the health sectors in these countries and suggests reforms to mitigate the impact of the crisis.
Setting Incentives for Health Care Providers in Serbia
The Serbian Government plans to reform its provider payment system for health care by setting incentives for providers to improve the quality and efficiency of care. Funds for health care are currently allocated on the basis of the number of staff and beds at health facilities. This encourages health care providers to use more staff and beds to define their budgets but does not reward improvements in productivity, quality of care or health outcomes.
Mitigating the Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on Household Health Spending
The ongoing financial and economic crisis has hit hard the lives of citizens in Eastern Europe and Central Asian (ECA) countries. Economic growth has started to dip, unemployment is rising and government revenues are expected to fall. The crisis is having a direct impact on the ability of households to pay for health care, a situation that will likely be exacerbated as real government spending on health care declines in many countries due to reduced revenues from the general government budget and payroll-funded health insurance. Patients may have to pay higher prices for health care, make do with reduced access to necessary health services and medicines, and face other health-related financial hardships as well. This brief draws on the experience of countries (outside ECA) in coping with public financing shortfalls, to provide suggestions for mitigating the impact on ECA households of reduced public health spending. First, however, it is important to examine private health spending patterns in the ECA region.
Mitigating the Impact of the Economic Crisis on Public Sector Health Spending
The current global financial crisis is having a substantial impact in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) where economic growth is beginning to dip, unemployment is rising and government revenues are being cut. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of the region is projected to decline by 4.7 percent in 2009 and the flow of remittances is also expected to slow down sharply, causing particular hardship to low-income groups. While countries with fiscal capacity have adopted stimulus packages to promote economic recovery, most ECA countries are financially constrained and have revised their government budgets, including in the health sector. Thus, as a result of the crisis, public spending on health may actually decrease in absolute amounts and in percentage of GDP. The health sectors in most ECA countries are mainly financed from public sources. In countries with low levels of public spending on health3, the majority of health services are paid for by patients. Any reductions in public health spending would thus only add to the out-of-pocket expenditures of patients, and may negatively affect access to care, particularly for the poor. There is increasing empirical evidence that public sector spending improves health indicators in low-income and transition countries, particularly in countries that have good governance systems in place.