About Cooperative Community-Based Healthcare

Community-based healthcare cooperatives play an important role in providing a vast array of health services, administering health facilities and/or providing administrative support services, and offering affordable health insurance.

Cooperative Community-Based Healthcare Characteristics

Cooperative community-based healthcare is a model of healthcare that is owned and operated by the people it serves, and is based on values such as democracy, equality, and solidarity:

• Owned by members:
  Cooperatives are member-owned businesses, where the people who use the services are also the ones who own the company.
• Democratic:
  Cooperatives are democratically controlled by their members, and are driven by their economic, social, and cultural needs.
• Values-based:
  Cooperatives operate on a set of ethical values and principles, and are not motivated by profit maximization.
• Community-focused:
  Cooperatives are focused on improving the health and well-being of their members, and on the communities they operate in.

Benefits of Community-Based Healthcare

Cooperative community-based healthcare can help address health needs in a number of ways, including:

• Affordable access:
  Healthcare cooperatives can make life-saving and improving treatments more affordable for their members.
• Reduce gaps in service delivery:
  Health user cooperatives can fill gaps in health service delivery, such as by developing prevention services and improving wellbeing.
• Enable tailored services:
  They can provide services tailored to at-risk user groups, such as in sparsely populated areas.
• Support the local economy:
  Healthcare cooperatives can positively impact local economies by creating jobs.
• Slowing healthcare costs:
  Cooperative insurance organizations can help slow the growth in healthcare costs by purchasing care on favorable terms.

Community-based organizations (CBOs) are also an essential part of the nation's public health system. They serve those most in need and fill gaps in traditional healthcare services. CBOs partner with their local community to address community needs and provide social care benefits.

Ways to Implement Community-Based Healthcare

Cooperative community-based healthcare can involve health insurance cooperatives, community-based health insurance (CBHI), and community-based healthcare models:

• Health insurance cooperatives:
  These are non-profit organizations where the patients who are insured also own and operate the business. The members share the cost of care, and as the co-op's revenue grows, members receive lower medical expenses.
• Community-based health insurance (CBHI):
  This is a type of micro health insurance where the community is involved in the setup and management of the insurance. CBHI schemes are usually non-profit and voluntary, and membership premiums are often a flat rate.
• Community-based healthcare models:
  These models focus on providing comprehensive medical services to a specific community. They aim to improve the quality, accessibility, and affordability of care, and often involve healthcare providers working with community leaders, residents, and local organizations.