Moving Toward Universal Health Coverage: Four Decades Of Experience From The Iranian Health System

Universal health coverage (UHC) during the past decade has become the main goal
of theWorld Health Organization. Access to health services, without suffering financial hardship
for the patients, constitutes the key foundation definition of UHC and its three dimensions:
population coverage, service coverage, and financial protection. Iranian health policymakers
have purposefully or non-purposefully been pursued the UHC goals during the last four decades
by the following macro plans: Health corps, establishing and expanding Health-Care Networks,
Law of Universal Health and Social Security Insurances, Family Physician, and Health
Transformation Plan. In this paper, we evaluated the situation of UHC in the Iranian health
system, presented the weaknesses, strengths, and challenges faced with the health system in its
implementation, and finally provided some policy recommendations to complete implementation
of the policy in the country