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Reproductive Health Matters
An international journal on sexual and reproductive health and rights
Volume 23, 2015 - Issue 45: Knowledge, evidence, practice and power
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Round Up

Financing adolescent health care for universal health coverage

This article assesses how far health care financing approaches that seek to provide universal coverage work for adolescents, by asking (and suggesting answers for) some important questions. Are adolescents adequately covered by a pooled financing arrangement (insurance- or tax-based)? If not, there may need to be a focus on increasing overall coverage and/or on measures that particularly target adolescents, including older adolescents. Do adolescents have to pay fees to use essential services, and if so, what is the impact of fees on their use of services? If this is a problem, exemptions could be a short-term measure. Are the services that are appropriate for adolescents covered by pooled financing arrangements? Decisions about services for adolescents are made by the agencies responsible for allocating the money in pooled health funds. Financing may not happen if adolescents are not seen as a priority in a contest for resources; if there is little awareness or information available about adolescents’ health needs; or if there is not a strong commitment to providing services related to potentially sensitive issues such as pre-marital sex, substance abuse or mental health.1

1. Waddington C, Sambo C. Financing health care for adolescents: a necessary part of universal health coverage. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2015;93:57-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.14.139741.

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