International Association of Health Policy

The XVth Conference of the International Association of Health Policy in Europe will be held in association with the Institute of Medical Sociology at the University of Frankfurt in

Frankfurt/Main, Germany , from the 2nd to the 4th of October 2008

26 years after the first conference of IAHP in Europe which was again held in Frankfurt, IAHPE is celebrating its longstanding activity with this coming Conference.

Theme of the Conference
"Privatisation and Marketisation of Health Care in Europe – Recent Trends and Policy Responses"

Call for papers

The world of health care in Europe is changing. For at least two decades European health care systems have experienced both structural adjustment and market-oriented reform policies. They are aimed at reducing costs and increase efficiency of health care financing and provision by employing privatisation and marketisation strategies. The ongoing privatisation of hospitals, the growing importance of voluntary health insurances and rising co-payments for medical treatments are important features of this policy. Moreover, several market-led reform measures (e.g. purchaser-provider-split, quasi-markets, contracting out, public private partnerships) have been implemented in the public health care systems of Europe. In effect, health care reform policies are undermining the basic values of solidarity, equity and equal access in European health care systems by transforming public health care systems into health care markets, thereby making health care a growth industry for private enterprises in Europe. The conference will deal with this changing face of health care in Europe, shedding light on the scope and impact of privatisation and marketisation measures as well as alternative policy responses.

Therefore, we welcome research papers and country reports to the following issues:

- Strategies in privatisation and marketisation as part of national reforms of health care systems

- Impact of privatisation and marketisation policies on access to health services

- Impact of privatisation and marketisation policies on quality of services

- Reports about the specific situation of health care systems in “old” member states of the European Union (EU-15) as well as from the new member states and candidate countries

- Impact of the process of European integration on national health policies - Alternative health policy approaches

IAHPE invites the submission of abstracts and poster proposals.

Submission deadline for abstracts: 31 May 2008

on line submission at : http://www.healthp.org/abstracts/

Conference charge:

-    120 Euros (for registration until 30^th June 2008)

-    180 Euros (for registration from 1^st July – 2^nd October 2008)

The conference charge includes a small snack Thursday evening, lunch and coffee break on Friday and Saturday, but not accommodation (for accommodation see below).

This amount has to be transferred to:

Universitätsklinikum Frankfurt (University’s hospital of Frankfurt)

BIC/SWIFT-Code: HELADEF1822

IBAN: 32 5005 0201 0000 3799 99

Conference Registration:

1)  Please send an e-mail with your name, title, affiliation and address to: IAHPE-conference@em.uni-frankfurt.de

2)  Transfer the conference charge (120 Euros) to the bank account cited above.

The conference is going to be held at the Kolping Hotel, Lange Strasse 26, Frankfurt, 60311

http://www.kolping-hotels.com/

Hotel reservation:

We do strongly recommend the accomodation in the Kolping Hotel where the conference is going to be held. If you want to book a hotel room in the Kolping Hotel please proceed as follows:

1)  Add to your registration e-mail (see above) a request for accommodation.

2)  Transfer your individual amount for accomodation to the conference bank account (see above):

     -      single-bed room per night (incl. breakfast): 65 Euros,

     -      double-bed room per night (incl. breakfast): 89 Euros

The organisation team in Frankfurt will immediately book the rooms as requested and will send you a booking confirmation. Accordingly, you should not contact the Kolping Hotel by yourself.

Due to high demand participants should book a hotel room quickly, at the latest until 31^st August 2008.

Participants of the conference who wish to book a hotel room by themselves are free to do so.