Right to Health Care after the Economic Crisis

Today, there are numerous challenges that citizens and public policy makers face in terms of securing and financing health care. This problem can be seen in the broader context of socio-economic, financial, cultural and other social events in the world and in our country. The issue of the availability and comprehensiveness of health care, in line with the principle of equality in health, is posed as particularly challenging to standardize and implementation of legal rules. All these countries face the challenges. This problem is particularly acute after the global economic crisis in 2007, when most countries have acceded to the redefinition of health policy. The paper analyzes the impact of social change on defining health policy by applying the normative, comparative and sociological method, above all, the consequences of the economic crisis to health policy making in Serbia. Limited financial allocations for health in the face of significant socio-economic changes and the necessity of achieving equality in health for all social groups, on the other hand, are in conflict, thus it is necessary to determine an adequate way of overcoming them, all in the context of the sustainability of the system. In the further work, the authors point to the collapse of the health care system in Serbia, which began at the end of the last century, with the process of transition, and then further disturbed by the global economic crisis. Critical consideration of current health policy developments to identify alternative ways and to meet the conflicting interests of all stakeholders, i.e. policy makers, providers and users of health services, has been identified as a core subject of research, which will be considered in accordance with a holistic approach to the realization of human rights