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Reconsidering the popularity of primary health centers in India: a case study from rural Maharashtra.

Most evaluations of India's primary health care (PHC) program have been critical of the ways government primary health centers have been functioning. It has been commonly noted that utilization of health services is poor and community participation in the PHC outreach program low. Additionally, medical officers and health center staff are often accused of being negligent in their duties. In this paper I argue that it is worthwhile examining how a popular primary health center functions in a context marked by a growing demand for Western medicines. Attention is drawn to the ingenious ways in which health personnel respond to client demands and government medicine shortages. The case of a popular primary health center in rural Maharashtra is presented. This health center is both the site of public and private health care. Discussed is the manner in which rural populations in India maximize available health care options given time, cash and transportation constraints. Current thinking about community health financing is considered in light of existing health care utilization patterns, community evaluation of free services, perceptions of entitlement and the likely response of practitioners to such schemes.

Community Health Centers↗

Financing and budgeting of community-based family medicine residency programs.

Using an Internet-based survey for the fiscal year 2003 to 2004, 56 community-based family medicine residency programs participated in primary research of current financing and expenditures. A median of dollar 194,125 was invested in training each resident annually. The bulk of funding stemmed from sponsoring institution support and clinical care revenues. The majority of programs did not receive Title VII funds, state, local, or philanthropic support. Clinical care activity continued a historical trend of increases. There were 1,076 patient visits per resident full-time equivalent, producing 39.5% of program financing. The percentage of visits provided to those with Medicaid was 35.9%. Expenses included a calculated malpractice rate of dollar 17,097 per faculty full-time equivalent. This effort provides a database available for further expansion, a comparison to medical school-based residency programs, analyses for reflection on program characteristics, and future comparison of historical trends.

Budgets↗

Financing health care at the local level: the community drug funds of Honduras.

In response to UNICEF's Bamako Initiative, hundreds of privately run Community Drug Funds were established in Honduras during the 1990s, generally under the auspices of a non-government organization and usually with the financial assistance of international agencies. Honduras' Community Drug Funds (CDF) are rotating drug funds intended to: (1) serve as a means of increasing access to care in isolated rural populations, (2) promote the more rational use of medicines and (3) promote community participation in the financing and oversight of primary health care activities. This study is the first to analyse empirically the impact and efficiency of these institutions, relying upon primary data obtained from a survey of 51 of the 450 active CDFs in Honduras. Archival data from Ministry of Health and other sources were also analysed. The structure, operations, and impact of CDFs are detailed, with special attention given to access and quality of care issues. The study found that CDFs are rapidly becoming under-capitalized because of basic management problems, principally in pricing and in medicine purchasing practices. These shortcomings, and more generally, increasing financial pressures on NGO sponsors, are negatively affecting quality and access to care. Given the rate of erosion in CDF assets, unless they are recapitalized, the current average estimated lifespan of a CDF is 5.5 years. If these funds are to be sustainable, changes in their financing, training and supervision will be required. In addressing these issues, Honduran health policy-makers must decide how best to balance the competing goals of holding down costs, while maintaining adequate quality and improving access to care.

Community Participation↗

The status of local health care safety nets.

This paper examines variations in the composition, concentration, financing, and community context of local health care "safety nets" and the market pressures that they face. It also reviews financing mechanisms that support these systems and strategies being undertaken to retain publicly insured patients. As safety-net providers compete more aggressively, the availability of the public health, behavioral health, and social services they provide may be affected. Communities may have to consider more explicit investments in these "public goods" if competitive markets remove existing cross-subsidies.

Cost Control↗

Financing rural health and medical services.

The provision and utilization of health care services in rural areas are tied directly to the structure of financing. The model of rural health care shaped by federal policies over three decades was significantly altered by changes during the 1980s. With reactions of third-party payers to health care costs rising faster than inflation, the difficulty of accommodating access to care and cost efficiency in provision became evident. This review begins with the literature on patient services and capital financing of rural hospitals, then continues with the financing of clinics, community centers, and other supply forms. Research during the 1980s provides insight into the effects of various financing policies on the supply of services. The demand for health care in rural areas is characterized by less generous third-party coverage, leaving residents paying a larger share of their incomes for care than do urban residents. As a consequence, access to care is especially difficult for low-income and elderly people, heavily dependent upon government financing. Third-party payers have severely reduced cost shifting as a mechanism for taking care of the health care needs of a sizable share of the population, thereby placing providers in an uncomfortable position. Several potential and more formalized financing options for replacing cost shifting are discussed. Several important changes will take place with rural-focused legislation enacted in the late 1980s. These are used to present a rural financing research agenda for the 1990s.

Capital Financing↗

Enhancing rural economic development: crafting a health care revolving loan fund.

Community development efforts in economically depressed rural areas are often hampered by poor access to health care. One barrier to rural provider availability is the difficulty of obtaining capital for rural health care infrastructure development. Commercial lending institutions are limited in their ability to respond to these needs due to traditional lending criteria--creditworthiness, equity, experience, management ability, and profits or cash flow. This paper describes a rural health care revolving loan fund crafted to address these needs for capital while addressing the goal of improving health care access in rural Arkansas. The Arkansas Rural Health Revolving Loan Fund is a model for other states interested in two processes that work synergistically: (1) increasing access to capital to strengthen the rural primary health care infrastructure and (2) making health care more economically viable by integrating the fund's efforts with those of other community development initiatives.

Arkansas↗

Medicaid program; home and community-based services--Health Care Financing Administration. Interim final rule with comment period.

This rule amends current Medicaid regulations to permit States to offer, under a Secretarial waiver, a wide array of home and community-based services that an individual may need in order to avoid institutionalization. Before enactment on August 13, 1981, of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, little coverage under Medicaid was available for noninstitutional long-term care services. Conversely, institutional long-term care services represent a significant part of the budgets of State Medicaid programs. These regulations, which implement section 2176 of Pub. L. 97-35, allow Federal payment for these noninstitutional services, subject to HCFA's approval of the States' requests for waivers and to certain assurances made by the States. Once granted, waivers are in effect for 3 years and are renewable. On an annual basis, the States must report to HCFA on the impact and effectiveness of the program.

Community Health Services↗

Medicaid program; home and community-based services. Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), HHS. Final rule with comment period.

This final rule with comment period expands State flexibility in providing prevocational, educational, and supported employment services under the Medicaid home and community-based services waiver provisions currently found in section 1915(c) of the Social Security Act (the Act); and incorporates the self-implementing provisions of section 4743 of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 that amends section 1915(c)(5) of the Act to delete the requirements that an individual have prior institutionalization in a nursing facility or intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded before becoming eligible for the expanded habilitation services. In addition, we are making a number of technical changes to update or correct the regulations.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S.↗

Community-acquired pneumonia: the annual cost to the National Health Service in the UK.

The aim of this study was to estimate the direct annual healthcare costs to the UK National Health Service (NHS) of managing community-acquired pneumonia. Using a prevalence-based burden of illness approach, health service resource use and corresponding costs attributable to the management of community-acquired pneumonia during 1992/1993 in the UK were obtained from published sources and commercial databases, and supplemented by a telephone survey of general practitioners, finance directors, community nurses, receptionists and nurses in out-patient respiratory clinics, ambulance services, and consultant respiratory physicians. The study was appraised by a Peer Review Panel, representing a cross-section of experts from different locations. This study was a predefined subgroup analysis of a previous, larger study that estimated the annual cost to the NHS of treating all community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections. The analysis shows that there are 261,000 episodes of community-acquired pneumonia annually in the UK, costing 440.7 million pounds at 1992/1993 prices (32% of the annual cost for all community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections). Approximately 83,153 annual cases of community-acquired pneumonia are treated in hospital (32% of all episodes) and account for 96% of the annual cost. The average cost for managing pneumonia in the community is 100 pounds per episode, compared to 1,700-5,100 pounds when the patient is hospitalized, depending on the length of hospitalization. Hospitalization accounts for 87% of the total annual cost. In conclusion, community-acquired pneumonia in the UK incurs a direct healthcare cost of 440.7 million pounds annually at 1992/1993 prices. Developing and implementing strategies to prevent and minimize hospitalization will significantly reduce this annual cost and should be assessed in future studies.

Adolescent↗

Financing urban primary health services. Balancing community and government financial responsibilities, Pikine, Senegal, 1975-81.

It is difficult to prejudge a community's capacity to satisfy its basic human needs, because no satisfactory method has been developed to predict the potential resources of a poor community. To improve their health conditions, all people, even poor, have some resources available. When they can manage themselves and be involved in decision making, they can become very efficient and contribute many material and human resources needed to organize health facilities in situations where the government fails to provide for wide-ranging needs, especially in the new cities. This was demonstrated by our experiment in Senegal between 1975 and 1981. This paper discusses the respective roles and responsibilities of the communities and the government in terms of: the process of setting up and carrying out the project in Pikine and the stages of community participation; and the pre-conditions for successful co-management in a primary care organization financed in a large part by the community.

Community Health Services↗

The status of community mental health centers ten years into Block Grant Financing.

This study tracks the 761 community mental health centers which received federal grants as of 1981 and assesses their status 10 years after the shift to Block Grant financing. Contrary to what had been predicted (Biegel, 1982), the vast majority of centers remained open (88.3%), a small proportion were involved in mergers (8.5%) and an even smaller percentage closed (3.3%). No pattern was evident as to which centers closed or merged by type of initial funding, although some states showed a concentration of mergers and closures. Data from the 1988 Inventory of Mental Health Organizations are used to characterize the centers still in operation by facility type, ownership, service mix and revenue mix. In 1988, federally funded CMHCs accounted for 34% of the total patient episodes treated and 22.7% of the total revenues reported by specialty mental health providers in the United States.

Community Mental Health Centers↗

An attributable cost model for a telecare system using advanced community alarms.

We have developed an attributable cost model for a city-based telecare scheme involving 11,618 community alarm users. The equipment was assumed to cost 500 Pounds-1000 Pounds per installation, compared with 175 Pounds for the current system. Because of the significant additional capital cost of the proposed system, it would be necessary to borrow to finance it. For example, if the home equipment cost 500 Pounds per unit, an additional 2.2 million Pounds would be required. Nonetheless, it would be possible to achieve a return on the investment after 10 years. The principal savings would arise from reduced hospital bed costs and reduced residential care. The model suggests that the financial benefits of the proposed system would occur in the ratio of 4% to the local authority housing department, 43% to the National Health Service and 53% to the residential care provider.

Aged↗