Estimating health plan costs with the OneHealth tool, Cambodia.

OBJECTIVE: To do resource and cost projections for the entire Cambodian health sector using the OneHealth tool, during the development of the third national health strategic plan 2016-2020. METHODS: Through a consultative process, the health ministry estimated the needed and available resources to implement the strategic plan. The health ministry used the OneHealth Tool to estimate costs of expanding public sector service provision and compared these to estimates of projected available financing. Cost estimates covered implementation of health programmes including commodities and programme management costs, and six cross-cutting health system strengthening components. The tool is populated with local demographic, epidemiological, programmatic and unit cost data. We present costs in constant 2015 United States dollars (US$). FINDINGS: We estimated the five-year cost of the strategic plan to be US$ 2973.8 million. Costs are split between health systems strengthening components (US$ 1516.3 million) and investments in individual disease or public health programmes (US$ 1457.5 million). Health programmes for maternal and neonatal health (US$ 367 million), child health and immunization (US$ 197 million) and noncommunicable disease (US$ 157 million) have the highest costs. Although projected resource needs increase over time, a financial space analysis with ambitious projected increases in government funding indicates that government and donor funding jointly could be sufficient to cover the cost of the strategic plan from 2018 to 2020. CONCLUSION: The results both informed development of the strategic plan, and contributed to the evidence base for improved budgeting, resource mobilization strategies and stronger overall public sector financial planning.

[The Japanese health system: lasting reform is impossible]. / Le système de soins japonais: l'impossible et permanente réforme.

This article analyses the main features of the Japanese health care system. It also analyses its recent changes facing the aging of the population, the need to improve quality of care and the necessity to contain cost. As far as the main characteristics are concerned, the accent is first put on the information asymmetry in the physician-patient relationships. Then the so-called "clinics" are described as the symbol of the coexistence of private and public health service provision. Finally, the "fee schedule" is presented as one of the main regulation tools. As for the recent reforms, it is shown that they are implemented in an incremental way. That is to say that the recent changes maintain the core of the health care system. They comfort the main value (such as equity) and the main institutions involved in the regulation process (such as the central administration or the Japanese Medical Association). They also maintain the regulation process (i.e. the continuous negotiation). As examples of such reform strategies, the article deals with the creation of a new insurance for aged people (named long term care insurance), the changes in the health seeking behavior, the division of labor between health care providers and some preparative steps for possible unification of multiple insurance. It is for example shown that the collective management of the "fee schedule" leads to an actual incentive. It pushes forward some medical practices (such as the use of high technology screening) or slow down others (such as selling drugs). But it is also a symbol of the regulation process itself. In effect, as this list is regularly revised, it gives to all the partners the opportunity to meet each other, to build a rather broad consensus and, thus, to enhance the strength of the whole system. As a result it is shown that the market logic that many western countries try to implement, through managed care techniques, do not fit the Japanese system and must be seen as inefficient.