Jens Holst

After the end of socialism, Albania opted for implementing a contribution-based single-payer health financing system. Since 1993, the Albanian Health Insurance Institute (HII) was set up and has developed into one of the most important players and stakeholders in the country’s healthcare system. The delivery of HII-financed healthcare benefits started in 1995 with the reimbursement of a series of drugs considered priority. Even though HII was implemented with the idea of stepwise expanding the scope of the benefit package, it took the HII and the Albanian health authorities more than 10 years to apply the first rele-vant upgrade of services. Since January 2007 the HII is also covering outpatient care delivered countrywide in about 400 health centres, including specialised care in a few policlinics. Only two years later the HII rushed into the next benefit package expansion including secondary and even tertiary inpatient and outpatient hospital care since the 1st of January, 2009. These two major steps in the development of the HII have significantly changed the role of the HII within the Albanian healthcare system and increased its political and financial responsibility.
In view of the historical development of the HII and forthcoming challenges derived from the countzry's application for EU membership, this paper summarises relevant legislation and legal requirements for becoming a full-scale social health insurance scheme providing universal and comprehensive coverage as one relevant requirement for Albania to become a new member of the European Union.
The paper on Autonomy of Social Health Insurance in Albania is available in English and Albanian.