The Advantage of Single-Payer National Insurance

Abstract

The world leaders have committed to achieve universal health coverage as set on the goal of 3.8 of the SDGs by 2030. Only public financing could achieve UHC for everyone in a country. There are three sources of public financing, i.e., tax-funded or national health service system, social health insurance applied national or national health insurance scheme, and a combination of the two. Low- and middle-income countries are often easier to start with social health insurance schemes with multiple and single schemes. The option of a single-payer National Health Insurance scheme has a lot of advantages in terms of effectiveness, efficiencies, and equitable health financing for all people in a country. This chapter explains the rationales of health financing and options of public financing with various levels of the impacts on the people in particular and the country. A single-payer system facilitates easy understanding and ensures equitable access with the same benefits for everybody. A single-payer system also potentially has monopsony powers to ensure cost-effective health care. Expenditures data demonstrate relatively lower among single-payer systems with the relatively the similar health outcomes.