Selected principles of health financing in the context of the Czech health policy

This habilitation thesis deals with the principles and mechanisms of financing healthcare systems. It is based on the robust theoretical foundations of public finance, health economics, social and health policy and the rules of socio-economic systems’ functioning in general. It examines the heterogeneity of health care at present, deriving from it the division of health care into universal and optional parts. It classifies the sources of financing health systems, defines the specifics of health insurance and discusses the properties and usage of single-payer or multi-payer system. It contains a comparison and synthesis of the configuration of typical representatives of different health care financing models: the USA, the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom. It applies the findings in the Czech context in the form of mapping the changes in the socio-economic concept of health care since 1989, analysis of the fiscal space for Czech health care and possible rationalization of earmarked health tax rate in relation to health insurance companies’ costs for people of working age. It shows the possibilities of using prepaid and insurance products in an optional part of the system and the synergic effects associated with it.