Can Asia Meet the Healthcare Demands of its Ageing Populations?

Asian nations are facing a dramatic rise in medical costs as they plan for the looming demographic transition to much older populations. Rafal Chomik, from the Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) at the Australian School of Business, says that Asian governments have the fiscal capacity to keep expanding their health systems, but they should heed the successes and failures of reforms in the region and elsewhere to avoid the excessive cost growth seen in the West. Thailand is cited as a good example, and Australia’s strong front line of GPs as well as its pharmaceutical benefits scheme are two initiatives worth emulating, according to CEPAR investigators.