Access & Coverage as an intermediate goal in the Health Care System of the United Kingdom

Seminar paper from the year 2019 in the subject Health - Public Health, grade: 2,0, Technical University of Berlin (Public Health), language: English, abstract: The aim of the present paper is to outline the scope of the benefit package in the British health care system. Therefore, firstly a short input on socio-economic and epidemiologic facts of the United Kingdom will be given and after that the British health system will be introduced. Finally the conceptual dimension of the intermediate goal Access & Coverage by the World Health Organization of a health system will be described in detail in order to outline the range of services and benefits to which the british citizens are entitled and to take a look on the criteria for decision making on the health basket in Great Britain. Since the Brexit referendum in June 2016, Great Britain faces great political and economic challenges of immense social importance. Banks, businesses and even EU citizens working in the UK are worried and are partially leaving the country. Leaving the European Union threatens not only overall economic performance but will have far-reaching consequences for health and the National Health Service in the UK. Healthcare financing for British citizens in the EU and vice versa is at risk, as is access to medicines, technology, blood and organs for transplantation. Access to good health services is an important component in order to attain universal health coverage of the population. Ensuring that everyone has equal access to services is a top priority for the NHS, as set out in the NHS Operational Planning and Contracting Guidance. As most health care systems, UK has a minimum package of benefits to which the persons covered are entitled.