SA407      Half Unit
Financing Health Care

This information is for the 2015/16 session.

Teacher responsible

Prof Elias Mossialos COW.4.08

Availability

This course is compulsory on the MSc Health Policy, Planning and Financing, MSc in International Health Policy and MSc in International Health Policy (Health Economics). This course is available on the MSc in Health, Population and Society, MSc in Social Policy (European and Comparative Social Policy) and MSc in Social Policy (Social Policy and Planning). This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

Course content

This course aims to give students a thorough grounding in health financing policy. It focuses on the health financing functions of collecting revenue, pooling funds and purchasing services, as well as on policy choices concerning coverage, resource allocation and market structure. The course mainly draws on examples from health financing policy in European countries, but the general principles studied apply internationally.

By the end of the course students will have:

• a grasp of the economic, political and philosophical concepts relevant to any discussion of health financing policy.

• a good understanding of how financing arrangements affect the achievement of key health financing policy goals such as financial protection, equity in financing and equity of access to health care, incentives for efficiency and quality in the organization and delivery of health services, administrative efficiency, transparency and accountability.

• the skills to critically assess current health financing arrangements and options for reform.

• an overview of key health financing policy issues, including the advantages and disadvantages of different ways of raising revenue for health; the role of private financing mechanisms; the importance of pooling; decisions about whom to cover, what services to cover, and how much of service cost to cover; allocating resources to purchasers, purchasing market structure and the principles of strategic purchasing; the incentives associated with different methods of paying providers; and the issue of financial sustainability.

Teaching

15 hours of lectures and 10 hours of seminars in the MT.

In addition there will be a two-hour revision session in the MT and a two-hour revision session in the ST.

Formative coursework

Students will sit a one-hour progress test in the last seminar of term. This will involve writing an essay under exam conditions. Their seminar leader will mark the essay and provide a mark and written feedback by the beginning of the Lent Term.

Indicative reading

WHO, World Health Report 2010 - Health systems financing: the path to universal coverage (2010); E Mossialos, A Dixon, J Figueras & J Kutzin (eds), Funding health care: options for Europe, Open University Press (2002); J Kutzin, Health financing policy: a guide for decision-makers, World Health Organization (2008); T Rice, The economics of health reconsidered, Health Administration Press (3rd edn, 2009).

Assessment

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.

Student performance results

(2011/12 - 2013/14 combined)

Classification % of students
Distinction 1.8
Merit 82.2
Pass 16
Fail 0

Key facts

Department: Social Policy

Total students 2014/15: 117

Average class size 2014/15: 17

Controlled access 2014/15: Yes

Value: Half Unit

Guidelines for interpreting course guide information

Personal development skills

  • Leadership
  • Self-management
  • Team working
  • Problem solving
  • Communication
  • Specialist skills

Course survey results

(2011/12 - 2013/14 combined)

1 = "best" score, 5 = "worst" score

The scores below are average responses.

Response rate: 87.5%

Question

Average
response

Reading list (Q2.1)

1.7

Materials (Q2.3)

1.7

Course satisfied (Q2.4)

1.6

Lectures (Q2.5)

1.7

Integration (Q2.6)

1.8

Contact (Q2.7)

2

Feedback (Q2.8)

2.2

Recommend (Q2.9)

Yes

87.2%

Maybe

12.4%

No

0.4%