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Health Provider Payment Reforms in ChinaThis paper examines health provider
 payment reforms in China the present system and how it
 evolved, and changes that will improve it in the context of
 ongoing health reform. The paper begins with a brief
 introduction and background discussion followed by two
 substantive sections experiments with case-based payment
 systems, and experiments with alternative government budget
 payment methods. This is followed by an examination of what
 has worked in China and elsewhere. The concluding discussion
 considers lessons for China and next steps. Many policy
 instruments and reforms have been implemented to use
 National Cooperative Medical System (NCMS), Basic Medical
 Insurance (BMI), and government health budgets more
 efficiently. These include alternative payment systems,
 reduced drug prices, essential drug lists, controlled use of
 high technologies, and strengthening the primary healthcare system.
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Turkey on the Way of Universal Health Coverage through the Health Transformation Program (2003-13)Beginning in 2003, Turkey initiated a
 series of reforms under the Health Transformation Program
 (HTP) that over the past decade have led to the achievement
 of universal health coverage (UHC). The progress of Turkey s
 health system has few if any parallels in scope and
 speed. Before the reforms, Turkey s aggregate health
 indicators lagged behind those of OECD member states and
 other middle-income countries. The health financing system
 was fragmented, with four separate insurance schemes and a
 Green Card program for the poor, each with distinct
 benefits packages and access rules. Both the Ministry of
 Labor and Social Security and Ministry of Health (MoH) were
 providers and financiers of the health system, and four
 different ministries were directly involved in public health
 care delivery. Turkey s reform efforts have impacted
 virtually all aspects of the country s health system and
 have resulted in the rapid expansion of the proportion of
 the population covered and of the services to which they are
 entitled. At the same time, financial protection has
 improved. For example, (i) insurance coverage increased from
 64 to 98 percent between 2002 and 2012; (ii) the share of
 pregnant women having four antenatal care visits increased
 from 54 to 82 percent between 2003 and 2010; and (iii)
 citizen satisfaction with health services increased from
 39.5 to 75.9 percent between 2003 and 2011. Despite dramatic
 improvements there is still space for Turkey to continue to
 improve its citizens health outcomes, and challenges lie
 ahead for improving services beyond primary care. The main
 criticism to reform has so far come from health sector
 workers; the future sustainability of reform will rely not
 only on continued fiscal support to the health sector but
 also the maintenence of service provider satisfaction.
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Philippines’ Government Sponsored Health Coverage Program for Poor HouseholdsThis is a nuts and bolts case study of the implementation of the government-financed health coverage program (HCP) for poor households in the Philippines. The data and information in this case study largely draws upon the 2011 World Bank Report 'Transforming the Philippine health sector: challenges and Future Directions' (Chakraborty et al. 2011), and technical work undertaken for World Bank support to the Government of the Philippines (GOP) for universal health coverage (UHC) in the Philippines.2 The aim of the case study is to understand how the HCP was implemented, what worked and did not work, and how it impacted expected results under the HCP. In 1996, similarly to many low- and middle-income countries, the Philippines introduced a demand-side program for poor households (the Sponsored Program). The objective was to improve access of poor households to needed health services without experiencing a financial burden. Unlike many countries, where such programs are stand alone, in the case of the Philippines it was integrated into the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP). This is a sound design feature from the perspective of providing optimal risk pooling and redistribution, and the Philippines is a model for other countries implementing similar schemes for poor households. The national government has included financing for poor households in the medium-term national expenditure program, so there is no danger of uncertainty in financing. PhilHealth is incrementally strengthening its contract implementation and monitoring mechanisms. The main challenge now facing the HCP is whether these revamped efforts will be able to quickly address the problem of lack of access to quality and affordable services for poor households. There are supply side constraints, facilities will need to be upgraded to obtain Philhealth accreditation. Accredited health facilities will have to be held accountable for delivering services and where public services are not available, mechanisms for incentivizing the private sector for outreach to poor households will have to be deployed. Much depends on Phil Health's capacity as an effective purchaser of health services. Local government unit (LGU) facility capacity to respond to revamped PhilHealth incentives is another bottleneck. The other challenge is whether the Department of Health and PhilHealth will be able to quickly build the monitoring and evaluation systems needed to track HCP implementation and make the necessary in-flight adjustments in implementation in a timely manner.