Role of stakeholders for health care reform - India, Indonesia, & Philippines – a comparative analysis

Of the many low and middle income countries in South Asia, the constitutions of India, the Philippines and Indonesia affirms the right to health for all. These countries have a mandate to prepare a roadmap and commitment to achieve universal health coverage. The course of any such reform depends largely on the strengths and interests of different stakeholders in the health system and their roles during the design and implementation phase. This paper identifies and discusses the role of various stakeholders for the health financing reforms in India, the Philippines and Indonesia including but, not limited to public & private sector. Their mandates and participation are analyzed and the paper compares the impact of their contributions to the reform process. The healthcare reform process in India, the Philippines and Indonesia have a profound effect on the country's overall healthcare environment which brings significant social, cultural changes towards health seeking behaviour and financial implications. Though, in the initial years of the reform process, the first steps are to have a vision for a reform process and efforts are to provide equitable and accessible healthcare system that meets the health needs and welfare of the population in these countries; participation of the different public and private sector stakeholders in the reform process would be vital to understand. It would be important to also analyze in what capacities the role of different stakeholders will advance the reform process within the mandate of these countries. A comparative analysis of the roles of stakeholders in India, the Philippines and Indonesia will give us an opportunity to discuss the process of health reform design and implementation in these countries and will demonstrate how the role of these stakeholders can complement to advance the reform process.