Category: –Volume 18, Number 2

Everaldo Lamprea and Johnattan García Abstract This paper explores Colombia’s road toward universal health care coverage. Using a policy-based approach, we show how, in Colombia, the legal expansion of health coverage is not sufficient and requires the development of appropriate and effective institutions. We distinguish between formal and material health coverage in order to underscore that, despite the rapid legal expansion of health care coverage, a considerable number of Colombians—especially…

Continue reading “Closing the Gap Between Formal and Material Health Care Coverage in Colombia”

Anja Rudiger Abstract Health system financing is a critical factor in securing universal health care and achieving equity in access and payment. The human rights framework offers valuable guidance for designing a financing strategy that meets these goals. This article presents a rights-based approach to health care financing developed by the human right to health care movement in the United States. Grounded in a human rights analysis of private, market-based…

Continue reading “Human Rights and the Political Economy of Universal Health Care: Designing Equitable Financing”

Lisa Forman, Claudia Beiersmann, Claire E. Brolan, Martin McKee, Rachel Hammonds, and Gorik Ooms Abstract Can the right to health, and particularly the core obligations of states specified under this right, assist in formulating and implementing universal health coverage (UHC), now included in the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals? In this paper, we examine how core obligations under the right to health could lead to a version of UHC that is…

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Audrey R. Chapman Recently, there has been a growing push for countries to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) in order to strengthen health systems and improve health equity and access to health services. UHC has been identified by some as the third global health transition—the first being public health improvements (such as basic sewage and sanitation) and the second being the epidemiological transition that reduced the toll of communicable diseases.[1]…

Continue reading “Editorial: The Contributions of Human Rights to Universal Health Coverage”

Audrey R. Chapman Recently, there has been a growing push for countries to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) in order to strengthen health systems and improve health equity and access to health services. UHC has been identified by some as the third global health transition—the first being public health improvements (such as basic sewage and sanitation) and the second being the epidemiological transition that reduced the toll of communicable diseases.[1]…

Continue reading “Editorial: The Contributions of Human Rights to Universal Health Coverage”

Antenor Hallo de Wolf and Brigit Toebes Abstract The goal of universal health coverage is to “ensure that all people obtain the health services they need without suffering financial hardship when paying for them.” There are many connections between this goal and the state’s legal obligation to realize the human right to health. In the context of this goal, it is important to assess private actors’ involvement in the health…

Continue reading “Assessing Private Sector Involvement in Health Care and Universal Health Coverage in Light of the Right to Health”

Antenor Hallo de Wolf and Brigit Toebes Abstract The goal of universal health coverage is to “ensure that all people obtain the health services they need without suffering financial hardship when paying for them.” There are many connections between this goal and the state’s legal obligation to realize the human right to health. In the context of this goal, it is important to assess private actors’ involvement in the health…

Continue reading “Assessing Private Sector Involvement in Health Care and Universal Health Coverage in Light of the Right to Health”

Claire Lougarre Abstract Five years ago, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution on universal health coverage, followed a year later by a resolution from the United Nations General Assembly. In these resolutions, states promised to deliver affordable health care for everyone, referring to notions of equity and human rights law, particularly a human right to health. However, the explosion of migration coupled with the post-2008 bleak economic climate have…

Continue reading “Using the Right to Health to Promote Universal Health Coverage: A Better Tool for Protecting Non-Nationals’ Access to Affordable Health Care?”