TABLE OF CONTENTS -- Foreword -- Preface -- PART I WHAT ARE HEALTH CARE VOUCHERS AND HOW DO THEY WORK? -- Chapter 1 Delivering Public Subsidies in Health Care -- Why Do Government Subsidies Do So Little to Help the Poor? -- When Are Subsidies for Health Services Justified? -- Demand-Side versus Supply-Side Subsidies -- Other Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Subsidies -- Chapter 2 Benefits of Competitive Voucher Schemes for Health -- How Does a Voucher Scheme Work? -- What Are the Advantages of Health Vouchers? -- PART II INTRODUCING A VOUCHER SCHEME -- Chapter 3 Conducting Prefeasibility Studies -- Identifying the Health Sector Problem and the Aims of the Voucher Scheme -- Justifying the Use of a Voucher Scheme -- Funding the Scheme -- Understanding the Context in Which Subsidies Will Be Introduced -- Building Partnerships -- Checklist for Prefeasibility Assessment -- Chapter 4 Conducting a Feasibility Assessment -- Identifying Potential Impediments -- Identifying Potential Advantages -- Determining Whether a Voucher Scheme Is Financially Feasible -- Weighing the Potential Benefits and Obstacles of a Voucher System -- Checklist for Feasibility Assessment -- Chapter 5 Designing a Voucher Scheme -- Choosing a Voucher Agency -- Establishing Recipient Policies -- Determining Benefit Policies -- Determining Price Policies -- Determining Provider Policies -- Determining Reimbursement Value Policies -- Designing the Vouchers and Other Materials -- Transport and Communications -- Distributing the Vouchers -- Payment of Service Providers -- Developing Information Systems -- Checklist for Voucher Design -- Chapter 6 Implementing a Voucher Scheme -- Tendering for Service Providers -- Negotiating Contracts -- Contracting -- Training -- Piloting -- Institutionalizing -- Scaling Up -- Chapter 7 Monitoring and Evaluating a Voucher Program.

Monitoring Service Quality -- Monitoring Competition among Providers -- Monitoring to Detect Abuse of the Voucher Scheme -- Monitoring the Characteristics of Voucher Recipients and Redeemers -- Monitoring and Evaluating Health Outcomes -- Monitoring and Evaluating the Impact on Equity and Poverty Reduction -- Monitoring and Evaluating Cost-Effectiveness -- References -- Index -- Boxes -- Box 2-1 Varying the Service Package According to the Needs of the Patient in Nicaragua -- Box 3-1 Prefeasibility Work on a Voucher Scheme for Cervical Cancer Screening -- Box 4-1 Political Impediments to Voucher Schemes in El Salvador and Honduras -- Box 4-2 Are Vouchers Stigmatizing? -- Box 4-3 Assessing the Feasibility of a Tuberculosis Voucher Scheme for Private Practitioners -- Box 5-1 Who Runs the Voucher Program? -- Box 5-2 How Can Vouchers Be Made Nontransferable? -- Box 5-3 Benefit Policies: The Importance of Stating the Limits -- Box 5-4 Price Policies Used by Different Voucher Schemes -- Box 5-5 Choosing Service Providers that Meet Program Needs -- Box 5-6 Designing the Voucher -- Box 5-7 Facing the Challenges of Transport and Communications -- Box 5-8 Using Village Leaders to Distribute Vouchers -- Box 6-1 Tips on Negotiating -- Box 6-2 Elements in a Model Contract -- Box 6-3 How Piloting Can Lead to Changes in Strategy -- Box 7-1 Calculating the HHIC -- Box 7-2 Improving Targeting through Adverse Selection -- Figures -- Figure 1-1 Demand-Side Versus Supply-Side Subsidies in Health Care -- Figure 2-1 How Does a Voucher Scheme Work? -- Figure 3-1 Decision Tree for Supply-Side Subsidies -- Figure 3-2 Decision Tree for Demand-Side Subsidies -- Figure 4-1 Typical Sequence of Activities in a Feasibility Assessment -- Figure 5-1 Designing Recipient Policies -- Figure 5-2 Designing Provider Policies -- Figure 7-1 Monitoring and Evaluating the Voucher Program.

Tables -- Table 3-1 Checklist for Prefeasability Assessment -- Table 4-1 Checklist for Feasibility Assessment -- Table 5-1 Matching Beneficiaries with Program Aims -- Table 5-2 Benefit Policies of Selected Voucher Schemes for Health -- Table 5-3 Checklist for Voucher Design.