Assessing the Progress of Successful Selected Countries in Achieving Universal Health Coverage in 2017 and Providing Appropriate Solutions for Iran: A Review Study

Achieving the universal health coverage in each country is different according to cultural, social, economic conditions, available resources and development infrastructure, which in Iran over the past few decades, several efforts have been made in this field. The aim of this study is to gain successful experiences of countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Sweden and some countries in different continents with different health care systems that have achieved universal health coverage.

This study is a review study. The bulk of the data studied is related documentation, including official published reports, articles, books, regulations, and newsletters that search for keywords such as insurance, universal health coverage, and health. Health, Health System, Financial Resources and Health System Performance in external databases such as Google Scholar, Web of Science and websites such as World Bank, World Health Organization, Also, the use of some internal databases such as Iranmedex and holding meetings with the beneficiaries of the Ministry of Health in Iran has been obtained. All data were analyzed by using content analysis method.

Today, there is no single global model for designing health insurance systems. Countries differ in terms of priorities, population covered, degree of development, type of government system and other factors, and each has its strengths and weaknesses. Countries must evaluate these strengths and weaknesses with their economic, political, and executive priorities, needs, and constraints, and select the best system.

Successful countries in the field of universal health coverage have also benefited from the political and financial commitments of their government and the private sector has acted as a complement to the public sector. Recognizing the health needs for a regular and coordinated referral system is one of the reasons for improving public health coverage. Universal health coverage is a time-consuming process that Iran has come very close to this great goal in the past few years with the implementation of the Health Transformation Plan.