Health care financing and the sustainability of health systems — Liaropoulos 2015

The article argues that while the issue of health system sustainability in the developed world has been discussed, not enough attention has been paid to the issue of financing and who pays. The authors argue that in a globalized economy, wage income is insufficient to cover rising healthcare costs, and the cost of social health insurance through employment contributions can jeopardize the competitiveness of the economy. Therefore, the authors propose a shift towards comprehensive National Health Insurance financed by progressive taxation of income from all sources, rather than employer-employee contributions, as a way to protect health system objectives, especially during economic recessions and ensure health system sustainability. The article suggests that this fundamental concept in the economics of health policy needs to be reconsidered carefully.

Liaropoulos, L., & Goranitis, I. (2015). Health care financing and the sustainability of health systems. International Journal for Equity in Health, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-015-0208-5