Private Health Insurance in OECD Countries
This report provides the first-ever comparative analysis of the role and performance of private health insurance (PHI) in OECD countries. It analyses PHI markets and identifies policy issues arising from their interdependence with publicly financed health coverage schemes. The report assesses the impact of PHI against health policy objectives, paying special attention to the challenges and benefits associated with different insurance mixes. The analysis identifies strengths as well as areas where private health insurance might pose challenges to health system performance. This report shows how governments can help ensure that PHI markets make a positive contribution to the performance of health systems. Examples of useful practices for developing more efficient and equitable health insurance markets are also presented.
Also available in: French
- Click to access:
-
Click to download PDF - 2.06MBPDF
-
Click to Read online and shareREAD
Executive Summary
Governments in several OECD countries have used or considered using private health insurance (PHI) as a policy lever to promote certain health system goals, such as reducing financing pressures on public health systems, promoting individual choice and improving efficiency. Policy expectations for PHI, the size of PHI markets, and their impact on health systems, vary to a great extent across OECD members.
Also available in: French
- Click to access:
-
Click to download PDF - 292.39KBPDF
-
Click to Read online and shareREAD