Perspective Chapter: Public health insurance in developing countries

Abstract

Public health insurance protects citizens from unexpected high medical costs. It ensures healthcare equity and quality in many countries. Unlike the developing countries, health insurance covers all citizens in the developed countries. Due to low health insurance coverage in developing countries, the health expenditure at both household and national level is souring. Access to quality healthcare remains a big challenge, and many households struggle with high out-of-pocket health expenditures. Many people have even lost their lives because of failure to access healthcare services due to high costs that they cannot meet out of pocket. Countries with functional public health insurance schemes have attained optimal healthcare coverage for their citizens. In an effort to advocate for the development of health insurance systems by countries, this book chapter will cover the following; developing a public health insurance, the impact of a functional health insurance scheme on healthcare access, country-specific public health insurance schemes in Africa, challenges encountered and how to ensure health insurance schemes are sustainable.