Background Lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) have a common goal to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) through voluntary health insurance schemes. This is important to improve access to healthcare services and ensure fnancial protection for all by reducing out-of-pocket expenditures....

China's old rural Cooperative Medical Scheme (CMS) all but collapsed following the economic reforms of the early 1980s. In an effort to reduce financial risk and make health care more affordable, the Government of China recently began piloting of a new voluntary health insurance scheme for rural...

Achieving universal health coverage, including financial risk protection and access to quality essential health-care services, is one of the main Sustainable Development Goals. In low-income countries, innovative and affordable health financing systems are key to realize these goals. This paper...