Financing and Reimbursement

Differences in financing mechanisms and sources and in the allocation and flows of funding are frequently cited as a major barrier for the implementation of more integrated approaches to service delivery. In response, countries have experimented with different financial instruments and mechanisms, such as setting aside dedicated resources to support the development and implementation of innovative care models, introducing new forms of paying providers in order to incentivise coordination and integration, shifting the responsibility for funding of particular components of service delivery between funding agencies, or introducing pooled budgets to integrate health and social care. This chapter provides an overview of the different ways countries have sought to change financing and payment mechanisms at different levels in order to enable better coordination among providers in the delivery of health services and between health and social care and thus support integration.