Access to Finance in Healthcare

Ah, the wonders of technology! I am sitting here in rural Jharkhand, but participating in a pretty fascinating e-conference on access to finance in healthcare, sponsored by USAID, the World Bank, and the IFC. The focus of the conference is around utilizing the tools of the private sector towards health, and is part of the SHOPS (Strengthening Health Outcomes through the Private Sector) project of USAID. As part of this, I was asked to present on the experience and growth path of LifeSpring.

For me, the most interesting questions I received were on how the LifeSpring model can be leveraged in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as what lessons can be translated to other health organizations looking to grow and scale. Questions like this certainly make one take a step back from day-to-day operations and challenges, and think of the challenge of high-quality, low-cost maternal health from a systems perspective. It also makes me think more critically about where the private sector can best play a role in such challenges.

I was recently speaking with a senior clinician at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, who spoke about a medical college in Vellore that successfully reduced maternal mortality in a nearby rural village to nearly zero. When I asked one of our doctors about this, her response was that their services are free - again, bringing up concerns about sustainability. But often I feel that the need to be sustainable also makes the private sector turn up their noses at institutions who have achieved much on the clinical side, and happen to also offer subsidized or free care. The interesting models come when we shift from a black-and-white approach, and get comfortable in shades of grey.