Examining universal health coverage as post-2015 development goal

In the BMJ Groups blog, Amanda Glassman, director of the global health policy program at the Center for Global Development (CGD), and her colleagues at CGD examine "whether [universal health coverage (UHC)] as a post-2015 development goal is a good idea." They write, "While we support the notion and concept of UHC, it may not be a useful banner for the global health community to rally around in pushing for a post 2015 development goal." The authors describe four reasons for this opinion, saying, for example, that "the concept of UHC is not easily understood or defined" and "there is still limited empirical evidence connecting general health care utilization and/or financial risk protection to health impact." They conclude, "Universal health coverage is important for all countries to pursue, but it is not yet a universally agreed analytical concept that will be useful as a post 2015 development goal" (9/25).