Publication: Verification of Performance in Results-Based Financing Programs: The Case of Plan Nacer in Argentina
Loading...
Date
2014-11
ISSN
Published
2014-11
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Verification in results-based financing (RBF) mechanisms is one of the key differentiators between it and related health financing structures such as social health insurance. Verifying that providers have achieved reported performance in RBF mechanisms is considered a crucial part of program implementation and key to maintaining trust through transparency, as well as the viability of the mechanism. Verification is however a process which has thus far been little studied. Information on the methodologies used in different settings (including frequency and sampling methodology), the effectiveness of the verification process, the direct and tangential effects, and the cost is scarce. Plan Nacer employs one of the largest RBF mechanisms in the world and is therefore an excellent case study for the role, methodology and effects of the verification process. This study will give the background to Plan Nacer, detail the major characteristics of the verification process and draw lessons on the process which can inform the design of verification in RBF mechanisms in other countries.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Perazzo, Alfredo; Josephson, Erik. 2014. Verification of Performance in Results-Based Financing Programs: The Case of Plan Nacer in Argentina. Health, Nutrition, and Population Discussion Paper;. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/21712 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Improving Access to Health Care Services through the Expansion of Coverage Program : The Case of Guatemala(World Bank, Washington DC, 2013-01)Since the signing of the 1996 Peace Accords, Guatemala has made efforts to establish economic and political stability, and to improve its social indicators. The country's Constitution states that access to health care is a basic right of all Guatemalans. In practice, however, it has been challenging for the Government of Guatemala to guarantee this right using public facilities. As a result, it has been trying to improve access to health services using both Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (MOH) facilities and staff, and alternative health service providers, particularly nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). This case study reviews the experience implementing the Expansion of Coverage Program (Programa de Extension de Cobertura, PEC) that was established by the Government of Guatemala in 1997 to improve coverage of health and nutrition services to poor, rural, and largely indigenous areas by contracting NGOs. It describes its origins; its package of services; contracting, financing, monitoring, and supervision mechanisms; and its contributions to improving access and strengthening primary health care services in Guatemala. It also discusses opportunities and challenges that need to be addressed to continue to improve health services coverage in the country.Publication An Assessment of LAC's Vital Statistics System : The Foundation of Maternal and Infant Mortality Monitoring(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-05)Vital records, the registration of births, deaths, marriages and divorces, and the vital statistics derived from these records serve two important purposes. Firstly, vital records are legal documents, but the focus of this review, is the role of vital records to create demographic and epidemiological statistics that are used in monitoring trends and developing health policies and programs. Vital statistics are classic public goods, and the World Bank is keenly interested in assisting countries in the Latin America region to strengthen their vital statistics systems. This assessment reviews the status and evolution of vital statistics systems in Latin America and makes recommendations for improving their coverage, quality, and timeliness. The strongest systems in the region on the measures of coverage, quality and timeliness are found in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, and Uruguay. This review found that countries in Latin America are well ahead of many other regions in the world in developing their vital registration systems. Yet challenges remain before these systems can support results-oriented health programs. Concerted efforts to improve these systems are likely to generate large payoffs in terms of supporting better public policies. Vital statistics should very soon replace surveys in Latin America as the most important primary source of information about births and deaths given their potential to more effectively guide policymaking and monitor results related to the maternal and infant health Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).Publication Maternal and Child Mortality Development Goals : What Can the Transport Sector Do?(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2006-08)The reduction of child mortality and the improvement of maternal health are two of the Millennium Development Goals. Child and maternal mortalities continue to represent severe burdens in many developing countries. Every year, 527,000 women in developing countries die of pregnancy-related complications and nearly 4 million children die during their first month (accounting for 40 percent of all deaths under 5 years of age) with nearly all (98 percent) of them in developing countries. The risks of dying from pregnancy-related complications and a child dying under the age of five are highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. The risk of a mother or an infant dying can be significantly reduced by a continuum of basic care, which should include preventive measures and a skilled attendant during childbirth with access to the necessary equipment, drugs, and other supplies for effective management of any pregnancy-related complications. Yet, many women spend excessive time trying to reach a health facility with the capacity to treat obstetric or infant complications. It is estimated that 75 percent of maternal deaths might be prevented through timely access to essential emergency childbirth-related care. This paper focuses on the ways in which transport and road infrastructure play key roles in the overall delivery of and access to health services, and in the effectiveness of the health referral process. Many households do not have the reliable, suitable, and affordable transport services that are essential for access to care during the critical peri-natal and neonatal periods. Emergency access to care is also critical because many childbirth-related complications are unpredictable and the majority of births in developing countries continue to take place at home.Publication Verification of Performance in Results-Based Financing(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-08)Verification differentiates results-based financing (RBF) from other health-financing mechanisms, and it is considered an important process of RBF program design and implementation. Despite the vital role it plays in RBF, not much has been written about verification as a process, and information about different elements of the process, frequency, cost, and direct and indirect effects among others, is scarce. Panama’s Health Protection for Vulnerable Populations Program (PSPV) uses an RBF mechanism to deliver health services to the country’s rural poor. As in many RBF schemes, a major component of the PSPV is the verification of results. This study focuses on PSPV’s verification process, highlights its results and their application, and identifies lessons learned. Such information is useful to policy makers and technical experts interested in or designing RBF mechanisms.Publication Results-Based Financing for Health in Argentina(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-07)The plan nacer program was designed by the Argentine ministry of health to provide health coverage to uninsured women during their pregnancies and for an additional 45 days after giving birth, as well as to children under the age of six. In doing so, it focuses on the most vulnerable populations, addressing a basic inequity in health care. In addition, the program includes three main distinctive features: an explicit menu of health benefits, disbursements linked to achieving agreed-upon targets of enrollment and health results, and audits conducted by an independent external firm to corroborate service delivery and quality. The plan is an innovative way to strengthen health systems. Rather than simply funding more facilities and inputs or adjusting existing insurance mechanisms neither of which have been successful in dealing with the health problems of the poor, the Argentine ministry of health realized that improvements to quality and coverage of health services for the uninsured would require drastic operational changes. To do so, it decided to introduce performance incentives at all levels and to focus on results.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication Business Ready 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-03)Business Ready (B-READY) is a new World Bank Group corporate flagship report that evaluates the business and investment climate worldwide. It replaces and improves upon the Doing Business project. B-READY provides a comprehensive data set and description of the factors that strengthen the private sector, not only by advancing the interests of individual firms but also by elevating the interests of workers, consumers, potential new enterprises, and the natural environment. This 2024 report introduces a new analytical framework that benchmarks economies based on three pillars: Regulatory Framework, Public Services, and Operational Efficiency. The analysis centers on 10 topics essential for private sector development that correspond to various stages of the life cycle of a firm. The report also offers insights into three cross-cutting themes that are relevant for modern economies: digital adoption, environmental sustainability, and gender. B-READY draws on a robust data collection process that includes specially tailored expert questionnaires and firm-level surveys. The 2024 report, which covers 50 economies, serves as the first in a series that will expand in geographical coverage and refine its methodology over time, supporting reform advocacy, policy guidance, and further analysis and research.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Lebanon Economic Monitor, Fall 2022(Washington, DC, 2022-11)The economy continues to contract, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Public finances improved in 2021, but only because spending collapsed faster than revenue generation. Testament to the continued atrophy of Lebanon’s economy, the Lebanese Pound continues to depreciate sharply. The sharp deterioration in the currency continues to drive surging inflation, in triple digits since July 2020, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. An unprecedented institutional vacuum will likely further delay any agreement on crisis resolution and much needed reforms; this includes prior actions as part of the April 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA). Divergent views among key stakeholders on how to distribute the financial losses remains the main bottleneck for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive reform agenda. Lebanon needs to urgently adopt a domestic, equitable, and comprehensive solution that is predicated on: (i) addressing upfront the balance sheet impairments, (ii) restoring liquidity, and (iii) adhering to sound global practices of bail-in solutions based on a hierarchy of creditors (starting with banks’ shareholders) that protects small depositors.