Abstract
"Health care systems" have become a topic of growing importance over the past couple of decades, especially so since the 2000 World Health Organization report. The European Union, in collaboration with investment partners, has invested heavily in health care systems analysis, most notably via its Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. Health care systems are pivotal to development, especially where there is a commitment, as there is internationally, to the goals of the United Nations. High-income countries, such as the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development members, are naturally in a more advantageous position in terms of capacity to invest in health care and have a longer history of active investment. "Social insurance" is the label used to categorize many of the world's systems, including Germany and several high-income East Asian countries such as Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. The chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.