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November
Developing Pro-Poor Health Insurance in India: An International Conference on Micro Health Insurance
Location: New Delhi, India
Dates: 1-2 November 2006
Venue: India Habitat Centre Auditorium, Lodhi Road, New Delhi - 110 003 (Tel: (+11) 24682001)
India clearly emerges as the world’s leader in the development of low-cost health insurance through micro health insurance units for poor and for rural population-segments. Around 40 such schemes, covering several million clients, are active in India. And the numbers are on the rise.
Most of the existing micro health insurance schemes decided to run their own independent insurance. Non-commercial mutual “micro health insurance schemes” are attractive because they involve the clients in some aspects of the business process, are more responsive to clients’ priorities and can mobilize ongoing contacts among members to enhance broad-based affiliation and renewal, and to monitor outlier utilization.
In this conference new information will be disseminated on the effectiveness of community health schemes in delivering health insurance for poor and rural population segments in India. The new evidence was gathered and analyzed in 2005 and 2006 under the project “Strengthening micro health insurance units for the poor in India”, funded be the EU/ECCP. The main source of information is a household survey conducted in seven locations where micro health insurance units operate; the survey covered upwards of 4,930 households, and is the largest comparative survey of this kind conducted in India so far.
The results of the analysis are presented thematically, following the main functions of the business cycle of insurance. Within each topic, practitioners and experts discuss the adaptation of the business processes to suit the specific requirements of health insurance for the poor. Special attention is devoted to the question of policy choices for the rollout of sustainable insurance for the poor.
Conference programme - outline:
Session I: “What’s in a Name?” Types of micro health insurance This session will deal with strengths and weaknesses of different models of operating micro health insurance schemes. The panelists, representing groups that operate different models of organization or ownership, will share their experience; and the discussion that will follow will highlight the different objectives that underlie the alternatives of delivering health insurance.
Session II: “Rules & Relationships” Responding to clients’ priorities This session will focus on the experience with giving choices to clients to design a benefit package, as individuals and as groups. We will discuss ways to attract, retain and satisfy clients within a micro insurance scheme, while at the same time generating revenues and offering judicious choices.
Session III: “The salesman’s job begins when the client says no” In this session, panelists will discuss experience with sales and distribution among the uninsured. There are a few success stories, and some tips and ideas about increasing clients’ awareness about the benefits of health insurance.
Session IV: “Act locally - think globally”: settling claims This session focuses on claims processing: what lessons can be learned from the experience with arrangements for cashless access to healthcare? Local scrutiny of claims? And with guidance to the clients about which healthcare providers to access?
Session V: “Size matters” (… and sustainability too) Europe’s social health insurance started from a community basis as well. What insights can the European experience with social health insurance schemes offer for the development of community based health insurance schemes? And how can these make a scalable, sustainable contribution toward insuring the uninsured poor in India?
Session VI: “The future belongs to those who believe their dreams” This session will focus on the medium and long-term prospects of health insurance among the poor. A fair and orderly development of the supply of insurance will most likely raise issues of regulating this insurance market, to ensure fair competition among insurers (notably prevent selection of good risks, or ‘cream skimming’). This session will also include a discussion of the role of subsidies in developing equitable supply of health insurance.
Further details and online registration is available on: http://www.ficci.com/ (after entering the FICCI website, click on “events” and then look for this event)
A conference brochure + registration form in hard copy is available from:
Ms. Natasha Wig / Ms. Kaneaka Sehgal,
Insurance & Banking Committee,
FICCI, Federation House,
Tansen Marg New Delhi 110001 (India)
Tel: +91 (11) 2373 8760;
+91 (11) 2376 5339;
FAX +91 (11) 2332 0714;
Email: mhi@ficci.com
More information on the project is available on http://www.microhealthinsurance-india.org/
November
American Public Health Association: 134th Annual Meeting
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Dates: 4-8 November 2006
The APHA Annual Meeting is the premier platform to share successes and failures, discover exceptional best practices and learn from expert colleagues and the latest research in the field. At APHA in Boston, learn how to stay on top of the trends in public health. Scientific sessions, networking opportunities and events, and the largest public health exposition equip you with the tools needed to succeed. Come explore a world of ideas and innovation with more than 13,000 peers and leaders in public health. APHA has a world of public health in store for you.
- 2006 Program-at-a-Glance (.pdf file) - Provides a quick overview of the meeting schedule.
- Expanded Access to Annual Meeting Sessions - Registrants for the E-ssentialLearning package at the 2005 Annual Meeting are now able to view the recorded sessions. Instructions and notification of user name and password were e-mailed on 1/17/06. Access to the recorded sessions will be through the Online Program. NOTE: Fees for E-ssentialLearning needed to be paid at the time that you registered for the meeting.
- Photographs from the 2005 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia are now available. Take a look and order copies online.
- 2005 Annual Meeting CE Evaluation: The deadline for submission of session evaluations for continuing education institutes and scientific sessions held at the 2005 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia was January 10, 2006. It is no longer possible to submit session evaluations for continuing education credits for the 2005 Annual Meeting.
- Registration and Housing - Registration and Housing will open on June 1, 2006. NOTE: Registration fees for the 2006 Annual Meeting have not yet been finalized. Check this page for a link to 2006 Annual Meeting registration fees after March 1, 2006. For reference purposes you may view the 2005 registration fees here.
November 03, 2006: Health Economics , Public Health
November
A Measure of Hospital Health: the 2006 Biennial Health Conference
Location: Sydney, Australia
Dates: 14 - 16 November 2006
Venue: University of NSW, Kensington Campus
This Conference will provide an opportunity for discussion of some key issues facing the health sector, particularly in relation to the financing and management of Australian hospitals. It will bring together academics, clinicians, consumers, government officials, as well as health service funders, managers and service providers.
Examination of Australian experiences in the light of recent experiences in other OECD countries will be of interest to both overseas and local delegates. The Conference format will include major plenary sessions, concurrent smaller presentations, discussion groups, workshops, exhibitions and social activities.
http://www.healthconference.com.au/0_home.html
Call for Abstracts
Interested parties are invited to submit abstracts for presentations at the 2006 Biennial Health Conference. Proposals may address one or more of the Conference themes listed under Program. Presentations will be selected through a review of abstracts process conducted by a group of independent experts.
For quality assurance purposes, a full version of all accepted papers must be submitted for review group comment prior to the Conference. Presenters of selected abstracts will also be invited to submit a full paper for independent peer review though authors may choose to decline this invitation and still present an abstract reviewed paper. The Conference proceedings will include accepted abstracts and full papers for papers that pass the independent peer review.
Papers that may have been previously published will not be accepted.
The expected length of presentation is:
- abstract review papers: 15 minutes with an additional 5 minutes for questions
- peer review papers: 50 minutes with an additional 10 minutes for questions
More than one abstract may be submitted. Presenters of accepted abstracts must register for the conference and are eligible for a reduced registration fee. They must also agree to provide a final paper for the proceedings.
Call for Papers and Registration Information Brochure
Download a brochure about the Conference (196KB PDF)
Please read the Guidelines for the Submission of Abstracts (196KB PDF) before submitting your abstract. You will need to have your abstract prepared as a Word document, ready to upload, in order to submit your abstract online.
Please note that proposals for presentations (abstract only) are due Friday 30 June
November 14, 2006: Health Care
IHE Consensus Conference on Self-Monitoring in Diabetes: Institute of Health Economics
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Dates: 14-16 November 2006
Venue: The Westin Edmonton
The Institute of Health Economics is proud to announce that it is hosting the first Consensus Development Conference to be held in Canada; the topic will be Self-Monitoring in Diabetes. The purpose of a Consensus Development Conference is to evaluate available scientific evidence on a health issue and develop a statement that answers a number of predetermined questions. A group of experts presents the evidence to a panel, or “jury,” which is an independent, broad-based, non-government, non-advocacy group.
The panel listens to and questions the experts. The audience is also given the opportunity to pose questions to the experts. The panel convenes and develops the consensus statement, which is read to the experts and the audience in the morning of the final day. This statement will be distributed widely in the Canadian health care system.
Objective: To develop a consensus statement on the benefits and costs of testing supplies for self-monitoring of blood glucose in diabetes, to inform policies of financial coverage.
Who should attend?
- Policy Makers
- Clinicians
- Researchers
- Health Professionals
- Frontline Workers
- Advocacy Groups
- Any others interested in diabetes
Registraton Fee: CAN $375.00 + GST
Download: Advance Program and Registration Form [PDF]
For more information
Conference Secretariat
BUKSA Conference Management and Program Development
Suite 307, 10328 - 81 Avenue NW
Edmonton, AB T6E 1X2
Phone: 780.436.0983 Ext. 232
Fax: 780.437.5984
Email: diabetes@buksa.com
November 14, 2006: Health Care
November
Economics of Genetic Technologies Seminar Series
Location: Oxford, England, UK
Dates: 23-24 November 2006
Venue: Christ Church College, University of Oxford
The mapping and sequencing of the human genome has increased the development of genetic technologies. As such the Economic and Social Research Council has funded a total of 4 seminars during 2006 and 2007 focused on the economics of genetic technologies. The seminars are organised by Dr. Sarah Wordsworth, Health Economics Research Centre (University of Oxford) and Dr. Katherine Payne, North West Genetics Knowledge Park (University of Manchester).
The seminars aim to: provide a forum to present and discuss on-going and cutting-edge economic analysis in genetics and build a network of individuals comprising: health economists and other economists; ethicists, sociologists and actuaries applying economic techniques in genetics research.
The seminars are being held at six-monthly intervals at the UK Universities of Manchester (18-19 May, 2006), Oxford (23-24 November, 2006), Nottingham (2007) and East Anglia (2007). They are two-day residential events where original research and research in progress is presented and discussed. The seminars are aimed at researchers from the UK and international community involved in the economic aspects of human genetic science. Each seminar will be structured around a key theme. PhD students also working in this area are encouraged to apply.
The theme for this second seminar: ‘Economic Evaluation in Genetic Testing’. Papers are now invited from health economists, economists and others applying health economic methods to the evaluation of genetic technologies and exploring alternative methodologies to do so.
A 250 word abstract should be sent to Sarah Wordsworth by Friday 22nd September 2006 (sarah.wordswordsworth@dphpc.ox.ac.uk)
Full paper deadline: 3rd November 2006
A registration fee of only #60 is required from each participant. Along with the ESRC funding this will cover the event, all meals (including seminar dinner on the first evening) and accommodation for one night. Each seminar will be limited to 30 participants.
Further information: Please see the Health Economics Research Centre Website (http://www.herc.ox.ac.uk/) under workshops.
November
Office of Health Economics - 13th Annual Lecture and Dinner
Location: London, England, UK
Dates: 30 November 2006
Venue: The Royal College of Physicians, by kind permission of the Treasurer
“The new global economics of vaccines. Will the scientific potential be realised?” by Jean Stephenne, President of GSK Bio
with an introduction by Professor Patricia Danzon of the Wharton School
Thursday 30th November 2006 at 6.00 p.m.
The traditional public health model of vaccine purchase through public tendering to drive down prices and rising regulatory standards was widely seen as hitting innovation, leading to the exit of companies from vaccine research and manufacture. At a global level there were delays of a decade or more before vaccines got from rich to poor countries. Now we see breakthrough new vaccines for developed countries; unprecedented investment in both buying and research for vaccines to tackle developing country diseases, including Hib, malaria and HIV/AIDS; and new entrants into the vaccine industry. The US BioShield initiative and fears of a bird flu pandemic have led to plans for commissioning and stockpiling, and “therapeutic vaccines” are providing new hope for patients and opportunities for companies. So what has changed and does this mean that purchasing arrangements are now in place that will lead to competition to develop and supply a new generation of vaccines?
In this lecture, Jean Stephenne, President and General Manager of the vaccine unit of GlaxoSmithKline PLC, will discuss trends in the science and new economics of vaccines. GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals’ (GSK Bio) current portfolio includes the recently launched rotavirus vaccine and an HPV vaccine targeting cervical cancer, a vaccine to prevent pneumococcal disease, an improved flu vaccine for the elderly, and a meningitis combination vaccine; products with application in rich, middle income and poor countries. It also has bird flu vaccines in clinical trials and a malaria vaccine, entering Phase III trials, that is being developed in collaboration with MVI, a product development partnership funded by the Gates Foundation.
As part of GSK Bio’s global strategy Stephenne has shown his commitment to the developing world through the substantial proportion of its research and development programme dedicated to diseases prevalent in the developing world, the use of tiered pricing for more than 20 years, and the willingness to launch new vaccines simultaneously in developed and developing countries. By emphasizing the global role of vaccines, Stephenne has revolutionized the vaccine industry and helped create a new paradigm of public-private partnerships.
When Stephenne, joined GSK Bio in 1974 the company had $3 million of sales, mostly from a 20-year-old oral polio vaccine. Today GSK Bio has more than 20 vaccines in clinical trials and is expecting to launch five major new vaccines in the next five years. It accounts for more than a quarter of worldwide vaccine sales, delivering more than 1.2 billion doses of vaccine in 165 countries around the world and generating more than #2.4 billion in annual revenues.
Jean Stephenne will be introduced by Professor Patricia Danzon, Celia Moh Professor of Health Care Systems, Insurance and Risk Management, at the Wharton School who will set out the economic context of vaccines. She has researched and written extensively on the vaccines and pharmacuetical industry in the US and elsewhere and was a member of the IOM Committee on Malaria Treatment.
She has served as a consultant to the World Bank, the European Commission, the New Zealand Treasury, the Asian Development Bank, and U.S. Agency for International Development, the Institute for Civil Justice, the Alliance of American Insurers, and others.
Professor Danzon is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Health Economics and the International Journal of Health Care Finance and Economics. She has published widely in scholarly journals on a broad range of subjects related to medical care, pharmaceuticals, insurance, and the economics of law.
Selected publications include: “Cross National Price Differences for Pharmaceuticals: How Large and Why?” (with L.W. Chao, J. Health Economics, 2000); Pharmaceutical Price Regulation: Global vs. National Interests, (AEI Press, 1997); “Productivity in Pharmaceutical-Biotechnology R&D: The Role of Experience and Alliances” (with Sean Nicholson and Nuno Pereira. J. of Health Economics, 2005); Vaccine Supply: A Cross-National Perspective” (with Nuno Pereira and Sapna Tejwani) Health Affairs 2005.
To register to attend this event please contact Liz Aulsford on: laulsford@ohe.org 020 7747 8855
Admission to the 6.00pm lecture will be by ticket only, for which there is no charge. For those wishing to attend the dinner (7.00pm for 7.30pm) following the lecture, there will be a charge of £69.00 (inclusive of VAT). Credit card details can be submitted or cheques made payable to: Office of Health Economics (OHE).