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Health care is a fundamental human need and one of the key factors of social security in welfare states. Therefore, all countries that follow this paradigm regulate healthcare services and health insurance through legislation. The legal regulation of healthcare services and health insurance reflects the society of the country whose healthcare system is being examined. Different models for ensuring public health and social security exist across EU Member States. The course will examine selected EU countries, with particular attention given to their individual systems and to the economic and social aspects that make it possible to identify the patterns and consequences of different health and social policies.
Different healthcare systems in Europe and elsewhere in the world have developed as a result of differing societal attitudes towards social and health risks. These differences have led to the development of various financing models, including the Beveridge model, the Bismarck model and free-market models, as well as different approaches to the organisation of healthcare services, the supply of medicines and other healthcare activities. Individual healthcare subsystems have distinctive social, technological and organisational characteristics. The modern development of methods for evaluating healthcare systems, particularly health system performance assessment (HSPA), is of special importance.
Health insurance represents one of the pillars of every healthcare system, as it enables different levels of mutual responsibility and solidarity in addressing the population’s health risks. The degree of state involvement in health insurance reflects the level of effectiveness of the healthcare system. To ensure equitable access to high-quality and effective healthcare services for all citizens in need of care, countries must adopt compromises. In addition to social, public health, economic and philosophical theories, these compromises are strongly influenced by day-to-day politics, which shapes key decisions under the influence of the media and political marketing.
Healthcare planning and health policy are therefore under constant pressure to reform so that systems can withstand the increasing costs of health and social care. These costs arise from demographic change, particularly population ageing, migration, cultural diversity, unemployment, advances in medical technology and the pharmaceutical industry, increasing public expectations, greater awareness of users’ rights and the process of globalisation. The successful functioning of the welfare state requires the coordinated operation of healthcare and social care systems. However, particularly in transition countries and in countries with liberal or strongly market-oriented economies, such coordination is often sacrificed in political decision-making.
Within each healthcare system, policies and strategies that ensure the implementation of national policies are of exceptional importance. Different models of healthcare organisation and health insurance, as well as relationships with industries and sectors that operate within or alongside the healthcare system, present an ongoing challenge and require specialised knowledge for the successful management of healthcare organisations and the balanced development of public health.
Stakeholders require knowledge and tools for participating in health policy discussions, clear procedures for developing guidelines and healthcare payment models, and the ability to implement them in practice. They also require skills in health policy analysis, knowledge of healthcare legislation, the ability to develop critical evaluation and healthcare system analysis skills, an understanding of the impact of globalisation on health policy development and health, and strategies for the coordinated operation of all healthcare institutions and organisations.