Building on the conceptual lens of Hero and Tolbert (1999), this study examines differences between policy restrictiveness in states with high minority populations and states with low minority populations for three policies areas: felony voting policies, Unemployment Insurance (UI) and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). This study examines whether states with minority populations greater than the national average have public policies that are more restrictive than states with minority populations at or below their national average and the patterns that emerged. Overall, I found higher levels of restrictive policies for states with high minority populations in the instances of felony voting policies and the Unemployment Insurance program. The findings imply a need for accountability and uniformity from the state to improve the outcomes for racial and ethnic minorities. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study is to report the current state of employer offering and employee participation in Long-Term Care Health Insurance within the Central Florida area. By distributing a voluntary survey to numerous businesses, information was collected from employers throughout the area regarding the plans and options available within their organizations. Through assessment and analysis of the information, a gauge of the present state of the workplace and Long-Term Care Insurance coverage in Central Florida has been established. What you will find within these pages is the availability and involvement of this insurance along with the options, awareness, advantages, and disadvantages it encompasses. I hope that you will in some way benefit from it.

With the advent of the new National Health Act, health care in South Africa is at a critical point as this will be the first time in history that a National Health Insurance is being implemented in this country. Globally National Health Insurance has been around for more than a hundred years, however some countries with long established national health schemes are currently grappling with funding issues surrounding their health systems. South Africa should take note of these issues as it embarks on this journey. The objective of this study was to perform a literature review on how South Africa’s National Health Insurance can be funded taking cognisance of the history of the country and experiences of other countries. It is imperative for each country to achieve optimal health care funding to ensure the success and long-term sustainability of National Health Insurance. The analysis of the problems experienced by other countries revealed that balancing the three main funding options namely, allocated from the national revenue fund, user charges and or donations or grants from international organisations, is critical as the funds needed in a system to achieve coverage at an affordable cost is dependent on the current state of health care in a country. Considering South Africa’s history and current inequality in society and health care it is clear that the majority of funding for the National Health Insurance should be supplied by the national revenue fund. The required funds can either be raised by increasing existing taxes or introducing a new tax specifically aimed at financing the National Health Insurance. The use of user charges is important however, although not purely for a revenue collection point, but from a cost control point of view as well. Some studies have revealed that the lack of user charges results in a misuse of the system. / Financial Accounting / M. Phil. (Accounting Science)

With the advent of the new National Health Act, health care in South Africa is at a critical point as this will be the first time in history that a National Health Insurance is being implemented in this country. Globally National Health Insurance has been around for more than a hundred years, however some countries with long established national health schemes are currently grappling with funding issues surrounding their health systems. South Africa should take note of these issues as it embarks on this journey. The objective of this study was to perform a literature review on how South Africa’s National Health Insurance can be funded taking cognisance of the history of the country and experiences of other countries. It is imperative for each country to achieve optimal health care funding to ensure the success and long-term sustainability of National Health Insurance. The analysis of the problems experienced by other countries revealed that balancing the three main funding options namely, allocated from the national revenue fund, user charges and or donations or grants from international organisations, is critical as the funds needed in a system to achieve coverage at an affordable cost is dependent on the current state of health care in a country. Considering South Africa’s history and current inequality in society and health care it is clear that the majority of funding for the National Health Insurance should be supplied by the national revenue fund. The required funds can either be raised by increasing existing taxes or introducing a new tax specifically aimed at financing the National Health Insurance. The use of user charges is important however, although not purely for a revenue collection point, but from a cost control point of view as well. Some studies have revealed that the lack of user charges results in a misuse of the system. / Financial Accounting / M. Phil. (Accounting Science)

6 Abstract The health care concerning the pregnancy and delivery at foreign women from non-EU nations in the Czech Republic The thesis is devoted to health care that is provided in the Czech Republic for foreign women from countries outside the EU, in connection with pregnancy and childbirth. In the first part of my thesis there is described health care in the Czech Republic in general. It contains an overview of legislation on health care, described the healthcare system in the Czech Republic, public health insurance and there are also summarized the legal rights to health care of migrants from "third countries" with a focus on pregnancy and childbirth. The second part focuses on migration issues, describes the current status and historical facts about migration in the CR and describes the legislative regulation of migration in the Czech Republic, mainly focusing on foreigners from non-EU countries. In the empirical part of the thesis used a qualitative method of data processing and analysis based on interviews with twelve women in labour from non-EU countries. Interviews present their experience with maternal health care, which was provided to them in the Czech Republic and explaining their orientation in the health care system. The thesis summarizes possibilities and range of the health insurance for...

In any given week glance through the nation's leading newspapers and popular magazines and chances are you will find an article on the nation's medically uninsured. In chiding a country that allows 16% of its citizens to suffer the risks associated with that lack of insurance, reference is frequently given to the exemplary coverage provided to federal government employees by the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. What of the benefits provided to state government employees? How good is the coverage, and, of particular interest, are there significant variations across states and what factors might contribute to those differences? This study assesses the level of health care benefits afforded to state government employees in all fifty states and considers the potential impact of political ideology, political culture, economic conditions and public employee union membership in influencing variations in those benefits across the states. The state paid portion of a family’s health care premium was adjusted to allow for differences in health care costs across the states resulting in a range of the level of benefits from $318 per month in Mississippi to $1834 per month in New Hampshire. A state’s economic condition, the level of public union membership, and a moralistic political culture were all shown to have a positive association with the level of benefits. Political ideology, defined as the degree of liberalism, was, however, not shown to have a statistical association. Understanding health care benefit differences between states and the factors that drive those differences has the potential of improving lives and the functioning of state governments. Scant information on those differences exist in the current literature; this study has developed a baseline of information and an assessment of driving influences that will, hopefully, stimulate additional approaches and research efforts. Benefits, in general, have been shown in the literature to impact the ability of state governments to attract and maintain employees of merit. Advocates of increased benefits can utilize these study results to place their requests in a broader context.

The South African government intends to overhaul the entire public health system by introducing the National Health Insurance (NHI) system. The implementation of the NHI has created concerns amongst the majority of South African citizens who have a poor image of the quality of services provided by the public sector. One of the major questions that this study attempted to address was whether one of the largest clinics in Soweto could deliver quality healthcare in terms of the proposed NHI system. The study conducted is quantitative in nature and two-pronged. The first part of the study involved a survey conducted amongst staff members at the Soweto clinic to determine their awareness of the National HeaIth Insurance (NHI) and their knowledge of the National Core Standards (NCS). The second part of the study used an assessment questionnaire to determine compliance of the Soweto clinic to the six ministerial priority areas. The results of the survey conducted among the Soweto clinic’s staff members in all staff categories, showed that there is general awareness amongst staff members of National HeaIth Insurance and they have some knowledge of the NCS; however, more education on NHI and NCS is needed for staff working in specialised or isolated departments who are unaware of NHI and have no knowledge of the NCS. The Soweto clinic showed some advancement with regard to the vital measures compliance scores compared to those of the rest of the Gauteng province in the three priority areas. The Soweto clinic has, however, failed to comply under the other four ministerial priority areas, with ratings of less than 80%. This study has shown a disconnect between knowledge of the NCS and the NCS’s implementation by staff members, as staff members have failed to implement or comply with four of the ministerial priority areas, with sub-standard ratings of less than 80%. The Non-NHI clinic is still very far from ensuring the provision of basic quality health service for its clients and it is, thus, not ready to implement NHI. Recommendations from the study: - Managers must drive the quality improvement agenda for their facilities. - Awareness campaigns and more knowledge on NHI and quality improvement (NCS) must be communicated to all staff categories in the health establishments to ensure a deeper understanding of these concepts. - Workshops must be conducted for all staff members in the Soweto clinic, to support the creation of a culture of excellence, with emphasis in providing quality care to clients. Similar future studies need to be conducted on a large scale such as in the whole of Gauteng to determine staff at health establishments’ knowledge of the quality NCS. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The South African government intends to overhaul the entire public health system by introducing the National Health Insurance (NHI) system. The implementation of the NHI has created concerns amongst the majority of South African citizens who have a poor image of the quality of services provided by the public sector. One of the major questions that this study attempted to address was whether one of the largest clinics in Soweto could deliver quality healthcare in terms of the proposed NHI system. The study conducted is quantitative in nature and two-pronged. The first part of the study involved a survey conducted amongst staff members at the Soweto clinic to determine their awareness of the National HeaIth Insurance (NHI) and their knowledge of the National Core Standards (NCS). The second part of the study used an assessment questionnaire to determine compliance of the Soweto clinic to the six ministerial priority areas. The results of the survey conducted among the Soweto clinic’s staff members in all staff categories, showed that there is general awareness amongst staff members of National HeaIth Insurance and they have some knowledge of the NCS; however, more education on NHI and NCS is needed for staff working in specialised or isolated departments who are unaware of NHI and have no knowledge of the NCS. The Soweto clinic showed some advancement with regard to the vital measures compliance scores compared to those of the rest of the Gauteng province in the three priority areas. The Soweto clinic has, however, failed to comply under the other four ministerial priority areas, with ratings of less than 80%. This study has shown a disconnect between knowledge of the NCS and the NCS’s implementation by staff members, as staff members have failed to implement or comply with four of the ministerial priority areas, with sub-standard ratings of less than 80%. The Non-NHI clinic is still very far from ensuring the provision of basic quality health service for its clients and it is, thus, not ready to implement NHI. Recommendations from the study: - Managers must drive the quality improvement agenda for their facilities. - Awareness campaigns and more knowledge on NHI and quality improvement (NCS) must be communicated to all staff categories in the health establishments to ensure a deeper understanding of these concepts. - Workshops must be conducted for all staff members in the Soweto clinic, to support the creation of a culture of excellence, with emphasis in providing quality care to clients. Similar future studies need to be conducted on a large scale such as in the whole of Gauteng to determine staff at health establishments’ knowledge of the quality NCS. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Prior 1994 South Africa had a fragmented health system designed along racial lines. One system was highly resourced and benefitted the few and the other was under-resourced and was for the black majority. Attempts to deal with these disparities did not fully address the inequities. The objective of the NHI is to address the inequalities by ensuring that all South African have access to affordable, quality healthcare services regardless of their socio-economic status. The majority of the participants do not understand the meaning and the implications of the national health insurance. Among the health professionals that were interviewed, there were no consultations before the implementation of the NHI. The health economists verbalized that it will be too expensive as the majority of citizens do not pay taxes. More roadshows need to be done to make communities aware of the planned strategy which will benefit all. / Health Studies

Health is deemed central to a nation’s development. Accordingly, health care reform and expansion are key policy priorities in developing countries. Many such nations are now testing various methods of funding and delivering health care to local disadvantaged populations. Similarly, India launched the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) national health insurance programme for low-income groups in 2008. The RSBY intends preventing catastrophic health-related expenditure by improving recipients’ access to hospital-based care. This thesis is an in-depth qualitative evaluation of the RSBY in Delhi state. It examines the RSBY’s effectiveness in fulfilling its goals and meeting local health care needs. Walt and Gilson’s (1994) actors-content-process-context model informs the research design and an actor-centred “responsive” (Stake 1975) or “constructivist” approach guides data analysis. Three research questions are examined: (i). Why was a health insurance programme launched and why now? Why was this model favoured over alternate methods of service expansion? (ii). Is the RSBY delivered as intended? If not, why? (iii) How does the RSBY affect patients’ access to services? The findings are based on documentary sources, observation of implementation sites and activities and 164 semi-structured interviews with RSBY policymakers, insurers, NGOs, doctors, and patients. The results show improved access to curative and surgical care for RSBY patients. However, RSBY’s focus on hospitalisation and omission of primary and outpatient services had undesired negative effects. The lack of ambulatory facilities led RSBY patients to self-medicate or use dubious quality informal providers. By only allowing inpatient care, the RSBY also seemingly encouraged the substitution of outpatient care with costlier hospitalisations. In effect, the RSBY’s design contributed to cost increases and poor patient outcomes. While more funds and human resources were needed to improve RSBY implementation, the performance of frontline agencies could potentially improve through more stable, longer-term contracts. Similarly, modifying RSBY’s monetary incentives for doctors may lead to better service delivery by them. By evaluating the RSBY’s strong points and shortcomings, this thesis provides key lessons on strengthening policy design and health service delivery in developing countries. Thereby, it makes a broader contribution to understanding the determinants of successful policymaking.