Policy tools for achieving more equitable financing of and access to health care services in Latin America and the Caribbean.

1 Health and Human Development Division, Pan American Health Organization, Washington, D.C., United States of America. Send correspondence to: Rubén M. Suárez-Berenguela, Pan American Health Organization, Health and Human Development Division, 525 23rd Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-2895, United States of America; telephone: (202) 974-3482; fax: (202) 974-3675; e-mail: suarezru@ paho.org This paper reviews policy tools or instruments for achieving more equitable financing of and access to health care services. The paper summarizes the economic rationale for public policies and the types of tools that governments can use in addressing resource allocation efficiency issues and equity objectives in order to reduce inequalities in the financing of national health systems and to improve equity in the access to health care services. Estimates are presented on the patterns of government expenditures and financing in countries of Latin American and the Caribbean. Estimates are also included on the level of government expenditures, the composition of revenues, the importance of government social and health expenditures, and the distribution of the benefits of government expenditures on health for different income groups. The last section of the paper presents policy challenges faced by the governments of Latin American and the Caribbean as they try to achieve more equitable financing of and access to health care services.