Towards Universal Coverage of Health Care in the Greater Mekong Subregion: Promoting sustainable social protection strategies to improve access to health care in the Greater Mekong Subregion

Countries of the Asian and Pacific region have annual public spending on health per person which varies from US$ 2 to US$ 40, while total health spending per capita ranges from US$ 8 to US$ 54. At the same time, it was estimated to cost at least US$ 36 per person per year to provide most basic interventions covering a few diseases, which cause maximum morbidity and mortality and for which cost-effective interventions were available. As a consequence, at present, private spending on health absorbs a large share of income in many countries in the region. Out-of-pocket expenditure often exceeds 60 per cent of total health expenditure with the highest of 88.9 per cent. In the low income countries, with virtually no private health insurance, this high out-of-pocket medical expenditure has catastrophic impacts on individuals’ financial condition. High private medical expenditure also hinders the poor from accessing to appropriate care, forcing them to turn to ineffective alternatives or to forgo the treatment all together. Such lack of access to care and resulting morbidity further push many into poverty.