High out-of-pocket expenditures affect health and economic development
📅12 December 2025 - 🕙 9:00 – 10.00 AM (EST)
BACKGROUND
Every year on 12 December, the Region of the Americas joins the global observance of Universal Health Day (known internationally as Universal Health Coverage Day). This date is an opportunity to reaffirm that all people—regardless of their economic or social conditions—should have access to health goods and services without facing financial hardship or barriers that limit their human development.
This year’s theme focuses on the impact of out-of-pocket health expenditures and on the urgent need to prioritize financial protection within health systems. It seeks to call on decision-makers to invest in mechanisms that protect households from economic hardship; raise awareness that millions of people are forced to choose between health and basic needs such as food; and spur immediate, tangible action to make health a reality for all.
AGENDA
Welcome and Opening Remarks
- Claudia Pescetto, Regional Advisor, Evidence and Information on Health Economics and Financing, PAHO
Universal Health in the Americas
- Jarbas Barbosa da Silva Jr., Director, PAHO (video)
Out-of-pocket spending as a source of inequities and barriers to health access
- Ernesto Báscolo, Unit Chief, Primary Health Care and Integrated Service Delivery (PH), PAHO
Country experiences: The role of financial protection in achieving universal health
- Uruguay: Representative of the National Resources Fund (TBD)
- Brazil: Darcio Guedes, Director, National Health Fund
Summary and Key Messages
- Claudia Pescetto, Regional Advisor, Evidence and Information on Health Economics and Financing, PAHO
Closing Remarks
- James Fitzgerald, Director, Department of Health Systems and Services (HSS), PAHO