Health Care for Undocumented Migrants: European Approaches

European countries have smaller shares of undocumented migrants than does the United States, but these individuals have substantial needs for medical care and present difficult policy challenges even in countries with universal health insurance systems. Recent European studies show that policies in most countries provide for no more than emergency services for undocumented migrants. Smaller numbers of countries provide more services or allow undocumented migrants who meet certain requirements access to the same range of services as nationals. These experiences show it is possible to improve access to care for undocumented migrants. Strategies vary along three dimensions: 1) focusing on segments of the population, like children or pregnant women; 2) focusing on types of services, like preventive services or treatment of infectious diseases; or 3) using specific funding policies, like allowing undocumented migrants to purchase insurance

Restricting access to the NHS for undocumented migrants is bad policy at high cost

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.Charging migrants for access to health services will not reduce strain on the NHS, say Lilana Keith and Ewout van Ginneke

Enforcing enrollment in health insurance exchanges: evidence from the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.Experience from the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany suggests that there may be a looming problem concerning uninsured individuals and defaulters that could derail coverage projection numbers in the United States under the Affordable Care Act. In those countries, the young, people with migrant backgrounds, and those with lower incomesprecisely the groups the Affordable Care Act is seeking to coverare overrepresented in the numbers of the uninsured and defaulters, frequently because of difficulty in paying for their premiums. In these three countries, penalties or suspension of coverage alone has not led everyone to purchase coverage or prevented some from defaulting. Help in addressing the vulnerable position of the uninsured may be needed. Examples include using a multifaceted approach in which public authorities help with debt restructuring, freeing some funds in the exchanges to help vulnerable groups, and compensating insurers for their outstanding payments if they follow an agreed protocol instead of canceling coverage

Implications of future EU policy on the provision of medicines and on actors in the European pharmaceutical sector

Ziel dieser Dissertation ist es, die wachsende Rolle der EU im europäischen Arzneimittelmarkt, insbesondere in Hinblick auf Akteure und Mitgliedstaaten zu untersuchen. Dies erfolgt in drei Schritten: (1) ein Review der Rollen und Trends der Akteure des europäischen pharmazeutischen Marktes, einschließlich der EU und ihrer Mitgliedsstaaten; (2) Entwicklung von Zukunftsszenarien für die europäische pharmazeutische Politik; und (3) eine Analyse der Auswirkung dieser Szenarien auf die verschiedenen Akteure im europäischen Arzneimittelmarkt. Online-Version im Universitätsverlag der TU Berlin (www.univerlag.tu-berlin.de) erschienenThe main objective of this thesis is to examine the impact of the EU on the various players in the European pharmaceutical market. This is done in three steps: (1) a review of the roles, historical context and trends of the actors in the European pharmaceutical market, including the European Union and Member States; (2) the development of future scenarios for EU pharmaceutical policy; and (3) an analysis of the impact of these scenarios on the various actors in the EU pharmaceutical sector. Online-Version published by Universitätsverlag der TU Berlin (www.univerlag.tu-berlin.de

Who should be vaccinated first? Comparing vaccine prioritization strategies in Israel and European countries using the Covid-19 Health System Response Monitor

The rapid rollout of Israel’s vaccination program has led to considerable international interest. In this brief commentary we consider how the criteria for vaccination priority groups differ between Israel and selected European countries. We argue that following the Israeli approach of using broad criteria for prioritization— i.e. having fewer groups and a lower age threshold— could have several beneficial effects, including more manageable logistics and fewer roll out delays, as well as potentially reducing pressure on hospitals. With an increasing supply of vaccines becoming available rapidly in much of Europe, countries could consider following the approach of Israel and adopting broader priority criteria going forward

Power and Purchasing: Why Strategic Purchasing Fails

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162754/2/milq12471.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162754/1/milq12471_am.pd

Major challenges ahead for Hungarian healthcare

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively

Challenges facing the United States of America in implementing universal coverage

In 2010, immediately before the United States of America (USA) implemented key features of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), 18% of its residents younger than 65 years lacked health insurance. In the USA, gaps in health coverage and unhealthy lifestyles contribute to outcomes that often compare unfavourably with those observed in other high-income countries. By March 2014, the ACA had substantially changed health coverage in the USA but most of its main features - health insurance exchanges, Medicaid expansion, development of accountable care organizations and further oversight of insurance companies - remain works in progress. The ACA did not introduce the stringent spending controls found in many European health systems. It also explicitly prohibits the creation of institutes - for the assessment of the cost-effectiveness of pharmaceuticals, health services and technologies - comparable to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Haute Autorite de Sante in France or the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee in Australia. The ACA was - and remains - weakened by a lack of cross-party political consensus. The ACA\u27s performance and its resulting acceptability to the general public will be critical to the Act\u27s future