How does litigation affect health financing?

Overview

In the last fifteen years, judicial claims to secure health services as a matter of right have become an important phenomenon in a number of countries including South Africa, India, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, and Costa Rica. Little systematic empirical information is available with respect to the impact on health financing of such litigation. However, a multi-disciplinary research project coordinated by the Chr. Michelsen Institute provides some preliminary findings.

This brief is part of a series, The World Health Report Technical Briefs, written to further develop key policy issues outlined in the World Health Report 2010: Health systems financing: The path to universal coverage. The Briefs give a concise overview of the issues. They describe some country experiences and propose a menu of actions for policy makers.