Universal health care in Southern Africa : policy contestation in health system reform in South Africa and Zimbabwe / edited by Greg Ruiters and Robert van Niekerk.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Ruiters, Greg, 1959-

Van Niekerk, Robert.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Health care reform--South Africa.

Health care reform.

Medical policy--South Africa.

Medical policy.

National health insurance--South Africa.

National health insurance.

Public health--South Africa.

Public health.

South Africa.

Health care reform--Zimbabwe.

Medical policy--Zimbabwe.

National health insurance--Zimbabwe.

Public health--Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe.

Physical Description:

xii, 223 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Scottsville, South Africa : University of Kwazulu-Natal Press, 2012.

Summary:

"The growth in private health care for the middle classes has resulted in deeply segregated and unequal health care, with poor people being relegated to under-resourced and unresponsive public systems, and wealthy minorities receiving world-class treatment at very high prices. This book examines the scope for health care reform in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Both countries are undergoing significant attempts at reforming inequitable, private sector-dominated, health care systems in the context of fragile, negotiated, social settlements. In South Africa, the government is moving towards introducing a national health insurance scheme that holds the historic promise of introducing social solidarity and effective health care for all its citizens. However, key aspects of the proposed scheme remain unresolved and need to be widely debated. In Zimbabwe, mandatory national health insurance has been discussed for decades without any conclusion being reached or a system implemented. This option needs to be revisited as the economy stabilizes and confidence in governance improves. Based on extensive research, the contributors to this volume examine health care reform in historical context, analyze the views of key stakeholders, and reflect on current proposals for better health financing and more people-centered health systems, based on the principles of universality and social solidarity. Universal Health in Southern Africa is essential reading for academics, health professionals, and policy makers concerned with the historical, ideological, and institutional background to the current policy debate on the commercialization of health care and proposed alternatives, such as a national health system"--Back cover.

Contents:

Inequality and health systems in context / Greg Ruiters and Robert van Niekerk

Competing policy choices and the debate on national health insurance in South Africa / Greg Ruiters ... [et al.]

The historical roots of a national health system in South Africa / Robert van Niekerk

Health policy reform in the last days of apartheid and the dilemmas facing the ANC / Robert van Niekerk

Public and private health care in southern Africa / Greg Ruiters

The growth of private health care in Zimbabwe up to 2008 / Elijah Munyuki and Shorai Jasi

Medical aid societies and equity in Zimbabwe, 2008-11 / Shepherd Shamu ... [et al.]

The growth of the private health sector in South Africa up to 2007 / Yoswa M. Dambisya and Sehlapelo I. Mokgoatsane

The political economy of the health industry and the private health funding crisis / Di McIntyre

Proposals and prospects for national health insurance in South Africa / Di McIntyre

Lessons from international experience for national health insurance in South Africa / Di McIntyre

Towards universal health coverage in southern Africa / Greg Ruiters ... [et al.].

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1869142365

9781869142360

OCLC:

810999787

Publisher Number:

99954829333