Can we sustain health spending?

Can technology assessment control health spending?

Because medical technology is the most important controllable component of health spending growth, the success of strategies for limiting spending growth depends upon their impact on technology dissemination. Technology assessment is fundamental to any strategy for controlling the adoption of medical technologies. Cost-effectiveness analysis holds particular promise as a method for evaluating a...

Can earmarking mobilize and sustain resources to the health sector?

The way a health system is organized and financed is one of the key determinants of whether it provides equitable access to essential health care and improves population health. Financing is important as it determines access to and availability of health care, and the level of protection against catastrophic costs of illness. In lowand middle-income countries, financing becomes a central issue ...

Can We Count on Global Health Estimates?

This week PLoS Medicine publishes a cluster of articles discussing the current state of global health estimates and debating the way into the future [1–5]. Estimates of global health indicators— which give insight into death and disease rates, document advances in health and development, and help policymakers monitor progress—are a necessary evil. They are absolutely essential to improving glob...

Are we spending too much on HIV?

Making health spending work.

Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) are usually promoted as a demand-management tool that gives consumers incentives to economize on medical expenses. "Making Health Spending Work" takes the concept one step further and shows how MSAs can be used to design a publicly funded system that incorporates market dynamics. MSAs can bring efficiency-enhancing incentives to the supply side, creating consumer...