02095cas a2200241 a 4500 AALejournalIMF005682 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781451872088 1018-5941 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL Tsounta, Evridiki. Universal Health Care 101 : Lessons for the Eastern Caribbean and Beyond / Evridiki Tsounta. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2009. 1 online resource (37 pages) IMF Working Papers <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students Despite the increasing interest in universal health care, little is known about the optimal way to finance, design, and implement it. This paper attempts to fill this gap by providing some general policy recommendations on this important issue. While most of the paper addresses the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) countries, its policy implications are applicable to any country. The paper finds that the best financing option is country-specific depending on a country's economic, cultural, institutional, demographic and epidemiological characteristics, as well as political economy considerations. However, taxation should be the primary financing source. It also concludes that an appropriate and realistic benefit package would need to be designed to ensure the system's financial viability. Regarding the optimal way to implement universal health care, certain preconditions are needed, including sound public administration, a small informal economy, and a transparent health financing system that builds social consensus. Mode of access: Internet IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2009/061 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/2009/061/001.2009.issue-061-en.xml IMF e-Library