Toward Universal Coverage : Turkey’s Green Card Program for the Poor

This case study unravels Turkey's path to universal coverage. It outlines both the transformation of the health system and the performance of the 'Yesil Kart', the Green Card, program, a noncontributory health insurance scheme for the poor. Initially launched in 1992, the Green Card program has seen a rapid expansion in the number of beneficiaries and program benefits since the implementation of the Health Transformation Program, or HTP in 2003, with the number of beneficiaries more than tripling, from 2.5 million beneficiaries in 2003 to 9.1 million beneficiaries in 2011. In addition, both the coverage and targeting of the program improved substantially. While the Green Card program initially began as a separate targeted scheme for the poor, in January 2012 it became part of the UHI scheme managed by Social Security Institution, or SSI. As this study will show, gradual steps were taken over the years to expand coverage, improve targeting, and expand benefits of the Green Card program to align it with the UHI. This, combined with the improvements in service delivery within a comprehensive reform of the health sector, makes Turkey a unique example of universal coverage for quality health services. The study is organized as follows. Section two briefly outlines Turkey's health reform and how health care is currently organized and delivered. Section three describes the Green Card Program, it evolution, and its performance. The final section discusses the pending agenda.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Menon, Rekha, Mollahaliloglu, Salih, Postolovska, Iryna
Format:	Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington DC 2013-01
Subjects:	access to health care, access to services, Ambulance, Ambulance services, beds, blood products, Budget Law, capacity building, capitation, capitation basis, certification, chronic condition, chronic diseases, citizens, clinical staff, community health, contracts with providers, Cost sharing, deaths, decision making, delivery mechanisms, delivery system, dental care, dental prosthesis, developing countries, diabetes, diagnostic tests, dialysis, doctors, economic growth, elderly, emergency care, emergency cases, enrollees, family health, financial protection, financial risk, financial risks, Force of Law, gross domestic product, health care, health care financing, health care provision, health care services, health care utilization, health centers, Health Coverage, Health Expenditure, Health Expenditures, health facilities, health financing, health funding, health indicators, Health information, health information system, Health Insurance, health insurance coverage, Health Insurance Program, health insurance scheme, health insurance schemes, health insurance system, health outcomes, Health Policy, health promotion, health promotion activities, health records, health reform, health sector, Health Sector Reform, health service, health service delivery, health services, Health System, health system performance, health systems, healthcare, healthcare services, home visits, hospital, hospital autonomy, Hospital services, hospital system, Hospitalization, hospitals, household income, Human Development, human resources, ill health, illnesses, incentive structures, income, income countries, infant, infant mortality, infant mortality rate, infant mortality rates, information systems, inpatient treatment, Insurance, integration, Life expectancy, live births, maternal health, maternal health care, maternal mortality, maternal mortality ratio, medical devices, medical examinations, medical goods, medicines, midwives, Ministry of Health, mortality, National Health, National Health Policy, national level, newborns, number of people, nurses, outpatient services, patient, patients, pharmaceutical companies, Pharmaceutical expenditure, pharmaceutical spending, pharmacies, pharmacy, physician, pocket payments, prenatal care, prescription drugs, preventive care, preventive health care, primary care, private hospitals, private sector, Private Sectors, provision of care, Public Health, Public Health Expenditure, Public Health Expenditures, Public Health Spending, public hospitals, public spending, purchasing power, purchasing power parity, referrals, reform effort, rural populations, safety net, Social Affairs, Social Insurance, Social Policies, Social Security, social security schemes, treatments, universal access, use of resources, vaccinations, vaccines, visits, Workers,
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13309
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