The Cost of Health

Abstract

Another factor is particularly important in the explanation of cross-country differences in longevity, which appear to be unrelated to cross-country differences in health expenditures among high-income countries. This factor is the institutional framework of the health system, which is found to be associated with systematic differences in the degree of cost-efficiency. While a causal interpretation of the correlations identified in this book remains inappropriate, the following health policies and institutions are associated with a higher degree of cost-efficiency: a stronger regulation of prices, health systems decentralization as well as a higher degree of competition among health providers and private insurers.