Open and inclusive:fair processes for financing universal health coverage

Does fairness matter? This report argues that, in key areas of public policy making, it does. And that, in policy decisions related to health financing, there are reliable ways for countries to bring fairness about. The report offers decision support on fair processes for policy choices relating to health financing for universal health coverage (UHC). It opens by making the case for why fair processes matter for health financing. It argues that procedural fairness contributes to fairer outcomes, strengthens the legitimacy of decision processes, builds trust in authorities, and promotes the sustainability of reforms on the path to UHC. The report then describes key health financing decisions with an impact on equity in service coverage and financial protection, where issues of procedural fairness are particularly important. Next, it offers principles and criteria for designing and assessing the processes around these health financing decisions and provides suggestions for how to make them fairer. Finally, the report examines country experiences with diverse instruments that can be used to operationalize principles and criteria for fair processes in health financing decision-making.