"The objective of the book is to assess the policy actions of select Asian governments - in China, India, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand - to address critical health system functions from a policy design perspective. Our findings show that all governments in the region have made tremendous strides in focussing their attention on the core health system issues. However, there is still insufficient appreciation on their part of the critical importance of public hospitals and their efficient management in achieving universal health care. Similarly, some governments have not made sufficient efforts to establish an effective regulatory framework which is especially vital in systems with a large share of private providers and payers. A well-run public hospital system and an effective framework for regulating private providers are essential tools to support the governance, financing, and payment reforms underway in the six health systems studied in this book"--