Financing Health Insurance in Asia Pacific Countries

The paper discusses models of health insurance, including compulsory (social) health insurance, voluntary insurance, and community-based financing schemes. It illustrates the features of these models in terms of coverage, funding, sustainability, payment mechanisms, public-private mix, risk protection, and cost-containment properties, and outlines some emerging challenges to health financing arrangements. Health financing systems used in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, ASEAN and China are discussed, and implications are drawn for the developing countries in the Asia Pacific contemplating health insurance reform. Copyright © 2007 The Authors Journal compilation © 2007 Crawford School of Economics and Government, The Australian National University and Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd. .