Can private health insurance fill gaps in publicly financed coverage? Does it enhance access to health care or improve efficiency in health service delivery? Will it provide fiscal relief for governments struggling to raise public revenue for health? This book examines the successes, failures and challenges of private health insurance globally through country case studies written by leading national experts. Each case study considers the role of history and politics in shaping private health insurance and determining its impact on health system performance. Despite great diversity in the size and functioning of markets for private health insurance, the book identifies clear patterns across countries, drawing out valuable lessons for policymakers while showing how history and politics have proved a persistent barrier to effective public policy. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

In comparative studies of health care, the United Kingdom's health care system continues to be categorized in terms of public finance and public provision. However, over 11% of the United Kingdom population has private medical insurance (PMI), and PMI is an important contributor to the United Kingdom's health economy (the market being worth almost 3 billion a year). This study provides an introductory overview of an often-ignored and significantly under-researched area.The study is structured according to the three key dimensions of the market for PMI: the product, demand and supply. It also includes a short appendix on the market for health cash plans--an alternative form of private cover for medical expenses with relatively broad take-up. The Introduction provides a classification of forms of voluntary health insurance (VHI) and locates PMI within the wider United Kingdom health care system."