Publication:
Malaysia: A New Public Clinic Built Every Four Days

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Date
2019-01-01
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2019-01-01
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Yap, Wei Aun
Razif, Izzanie
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Abstract
This case study on Malaysia is part of phase two of the multicountry Universal Health Coverage study series (UNICO), which explores propoor universal health coverage (UHC) programs, which expanded one or more of the three dimensions of the UHC cube, breadth of population coverage, depth of service coverage, and height of financial coverage, in a manner that is propoor. Malaysia is one of only a handful of global examples of low-income or middle-income healthcare systems which had been able to deliver equitable and effective health outcomes at low cost and with strong financial protection, through public sector supply-side investments. The experiences and lessons learnt from Malaysia’s Public Healthcare System (PHS) are hence relevant for low, and low-middle-income countries considering such a pathway to UHC. Sections two to four of this case study describes the political, economic, and population context in which PHS exists, and covers two important aspects of PHS, service delivery and health financing, which are instrumental to its success. PHS coexists with a large parallel private sector, which is described together in these sections. Additional topics on PHS, its institutional architecture, management of its benefits package, and information environment, are covered in sections five to seven. Two major focus areas are then discussed: the first focus area (section eight) discusses how PHS achieved propoor coverage through implicit targeting, while the second focus area explores the interrelationship between PHS and the private sector. Section 10 concludes with a proposed reform agenda for Malaysia.
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Yap, Wei Aun; Razif, Izzanie; Nagpal, Somil. 2019. Malaysia: A New Public Clinic Built Every Four Days. Universal Health Coverage Study Series;No. 42. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34668 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
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