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 Europ