Is healthcare affordable for everyone in Europe? This question will be at the heart of a webinar hosted by the European Union (EU) Health Policy Platform and the WHO Barcelona Health Systems Financing Office on 4 June 2024 from 10am-12pm CEST.
About the Webinar
This webinar will look at new evidence on financial protection (affordable access to healthcare) in 40 countries, with a focus on Belgium, France and Spain. It will bring together international and national experts to explore policy choices that undermine financial protection and showcase efforts countries are making to reduce financial hardship and unmet need for healthcare.
This webinar aims to answer the following questions:
Why are many countries unable to cover their entire population? How can countries mitigate the negative effects of co-payments? Can governments afford to pay for financial protection? Is private health insurance the solution?
The following speakers will share their insights:
Maya Matthews, Head of the European Semester, Health Technology Assessment and Health Situations Unit, Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, European Commission; Tamas Evetowicz, Director of WHO Barcelona; John Silas, Senior Health Economist, WHO Barcelona; Jorge Alejandro García Ramírez, Consultant, WHO Barcelona; and Sarah Thomson, Senior Health Financing Specialist, WHO Barcelona.
Additional speakers will highlight three countries:
Nicolas Bouckaert, Research Fellow at the Belgian Health Knowledge Centre (KCE), Belgium; Damien Bricard, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Research and Information in Health Economics (IRDES), France; and Rosa Urbanos-Garrido, Professor of Applied Economics at the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain.
Participants will also learn about UHC Watch, a new online platform developed to track progress on affordable access to health care in Europe and Central Asia.
To learn more about what countries can do to make health care more affordable for their citizens, register to join us online .
About the EU Health Policy Platform
The EU Health Policy Platform is an interactive tool designed to stimulate discussion on public health concerns and make it easy for stakeholders to share knowledge and good practices. The platform encourages users to interact with others, share their expertise in joint statements and disseminate actions to a wide audience.
WHO/Europe’s financial protection initiative
WHO/Europe monitors financial protection through the WHO Barcelona Office, using equity-sensitive regional indicators. The WHO Barcelona Office provides tailored technical assistance to countries to identify and address gaps in health coverage, thereby reducing financial hardship and unmet need. This activity receives financial support from the EU through the EU4Health programme, managed by the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety.
