Welfare, Choice, and Consistency in the Restructuring: Health Department Reforms in Eastern European Countries

Author: Janos Kornai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-05-01
Features: For all countries transitioning from a socialist central planning economy to a market economy, the reform of the welfare sector is both a formidable challenge and indeed crucial. This book offers advice and recommendations for the healthcare sector reforms of ten Eastern European countries, providing nine universally applicable guiding principles. The author discusses the specific characteristics of the sector, international experiences and lessons learned, as well as the main initial conditions, and primarily focuses on reforms in the following areas: supporting basic healthcare with organized public finance, supporting supplementary healthcare with private funds, and providing diversified services and managed competition. At the same time, policymakers must seek a balance to ensure social cohesion through the comprehensive expansion of basic healthcare services, while also expanding individual choice and strengthening individual responsibility through voluntary supplementary insurance. The author also examines the issue of effective market competition in the healthcare sector.