02-Jun-16 Over a third of Malaysians are directly paying for medical services despite universal health care, an excessive figure that can lead to financial catastrophe, the Health Minister said. He said Malaysians' out-of-pocket payments were approximately 35% of the country's overall health expenditure. [image: The Malay Mail Online]

24-May-16 In 2001, Thailand introduced the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS). The UCS, which spread to all provinces the following year, provides outpatient, inpatient and emergency care, available to all according to need. By 2011, the program covered 48 million Thais, or 98% of the population. [image: Dulyanut Swdp / Getty Images]

19-May-16 The road to a universal health care system in Mexico is just beginning its first phase, an exchange of services among different health institutions, a change that is expected to offer improved medical care for the end user. This exchange will cover 700 medical services, which have been identified as the most needed among the general population. [image: desdeelbalcon.com]

13-May-16 With the Philhealth mandate to cover 100% of the population, demand for quality, affordable healthcare is on the rise. The largest private provider, Metro Pacific, counts eleven hospitals with 3,000 beds. A relatively new entrant is the Qualimed Health Network, owned by Mercado Hospital Group and Ayala Land. Qualimed has seven facilities with four more scheduled to open in 2016. [image: Inquirer]

01-May-16 The movement of money into hospital projects in Vietnam has heated up again. Investors now see the healthcare sector a ‘gold mine’ because of increasingly high expenditure on healthcare services. The figure may reach USD24 bn by 2020, thanks to the government initiated healthcare service socialization program being implemented. [image: Vietnam Net Bridge]