Mongolia
Year Joined: 2014 | Membership: Full Member
Ensuring the availability, accessibility, and affordability of health services to Mongolians
The Ministry of Health leads the policies and strategies to achieve universal health coverage in Mongolia, ensuring coordination and cooperation among stakeholders for effective and efficient health sector management.
In 2013, Mongolia approved a long-term strategy to develop social health insurance (2013-2023), and by 2018, 90.4% of the population was covered by health insurance. Beyond the health insurance schemes, general government tax revenue remains the country’s major source of health care financing. Despite the expanded population coverage enabled by public health insurance, the level of out of pocket costs remains high, at nearly 35% of total health expenditures.
While primary health care and hospital care has always been covered under direct public subsidies or social health insurance funding, out of pocket payments for essential medicines appear to be the main contributor to household financial burdens.
Mongolia joined the JLN in 2014 and became a full member in 2017. A representative from Mongolia currently serves on the JLN Steering Group. Delegates from Mongolia have participated in a number of initiatives and collaboratives, including:
- Health Financing and Efficiency
- PHC Provider Payment
- People-Centered Integrated Care
- Engaging the Private Sector in PHC to Achieve UHC
Members of the Mongolian delegation have also contributed to the following knowledge products:
- Assessing Health Provider Payment Systems: A Practical Guide for Countries Moving toward UHC
- Assessing Health Provider Payment Systems: Analytical Team Workbook
- Financing and Payment Models for Primary Health Care: Six Lessons from JLN Country Experience
- Data Analytics and Monitoring of Provider Payment Systems
- Lessons from Six JLN Countries: Regulation of Private Primary Health Care
- A country assessment report Regulation of Private Primary Health Care in Mongolia
Mongolia’s Country Core Group (CCG) adapted Assessing Health Provider Payment Systems: A Practical Guide for Countries Moving toward UHC and used it to improve policy design and implementation to pay primary health care providers and hospitals. The results were shared in the Assessment of Systems for Paying Health Care Providers in Mongolia publication.
In 2018, the CCG decided to adapt the following guides to contribute to Mongolia’s UHC journey:
- Data Analytics and Monitoring of Provider Payment Systems
- UHC-PHC Self-Assessment Tool
Both tools have been translated into Mongolian and shared with stakeholders. In 2019, the Mongolian CCG plans to further embed the tools in practical implementation through regulations and orders so that health care providers, the MoH, and the health insurance agency can use the tools to collect routine data to monitor Mongolia’s health objectives.