Can the proxy means test be used for health care policies? The case of RAMED in Morocco
Cottin, Raphaël
Can the proxy means test be used for health care policies? The case of RAMED in Morocco - 2019.
54
Since the 1990s, the direct targeting of households using so-called “proxy means test” techniques has been promoted by the Bretton Woods institutions as a way of implementing means-tested policies in developing countries. In Morocco, a proxy-means test direct targeting mechanism has been used for the RAMED health care program, which provides free access to hospital care for the poorest quartile of the population. Many believe that the numerous shortcomings of this program are down to the flawed implementation of its targeting. This paper shows that the actual performance of the targeting of RAMED is in line with international experience, and that the shortcomings of the RAMED attribution mechanism lie in the principle of proxy means-tested targeting itself, rather than in its flawed implementation. JEL Codes: C81, O12, O20
Can the proxy means test be used for health care policies? The case of RAMED in Morocco - 2019.
54
Since the 1990s, the direct targeting of households using so-called “proxy means test” techniques has been promoted by the Bretton Woods institutions as a way of implementing means-tested policies in developing countries. In Morocco, a proxy-means test direct targeting mechanism has been used for the RAMED health care program, which provides free access to hospital care for the poorest quartile of the population. Many believe that the numerous shortcomings of this program are down to the flawed implementation of its targeting. This paper shows that the actual performance of the targeting of RAMED is in line with international experience, and that the shortcomings of the RAMED attribution mechanism lie in the principle of proxy means-tested targeting itself, rather than in its flawed implementation. JEL Codes: C81, O12, O20
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