TY - JOUR ID - 4390 TI - A Historical Legacy for Universal Health Coverage in the Republic of Korea: Moving Towards Health Coverage and Financial Protection in Uganda; Comment on “Health Coverage and Financial Protection in Uganda: A Political Economy Perspective” JO - International Journal of Health Policy and Management JA - IJHPM LA - en SN - AU - Kim, Chun-Bae AD - Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, South Korea Y1 - 2023 PY - 2023 VL - 12 IS - Issue 1 SP - 1 EP - 6 KW - Universal Coverage KW - Financial Burden KW - Health Insurance KW - Benefit Package KW - South Korea DO - 10.34172/ijhpm.2023.7434 N2 - Since 2001, when Uganda abolished user fees to improve the accessibility of healthcare, out-of-pocket costs still account for 42% of total health expenditure. Even if universal health coverage (UHC) is achieved on the demandside, government authorities face political and economic challenges due to soaring burden of diseases. Therefore, this study aimed to re-analyze the implementation process according to three pillars by World Health Organization (WHO) based on Korean UHC-related articles. In terms of breadth, the national health insurance (NHI) in Korea UHC was established from 1977 for employees to 1989 for self-employed. In terms of depth, benefit packages in Korea UHC have expanded from essential medical services to expensive care (ultrasono, computerized tomography, etc) including benefit period. Finally, in terms of height of coverage, the government has tried to relieve financial burden of households with catastrophes and enhance benefit plan for major diseases till now. This historical legacy for UHC in Korea can pose lessons to policy-makers in developing countries including Uganda and Ghana. UR - https://www.ijhpm.com/article_4390.html L1 - https://www.ijhpm.com/article_4390_23fb22537f3ed85ed3a8dd504adbd25e.pdf ER -