Countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) of the World Health Organization have never been as committed as they are today to ensure that all people have access to needed health services without the risk of financial hardship – the message of universal health coverage (UHC) (1). The average share of out-of-pocket payments for EMR countries stands at around 40% and in some countries is close to 70% of total health expenditure (2). This constitutes a major hindrance to pursue the goal of UHC and calls for establishing prepayment and pooling arrangements that guarantee financial protection to all population groups. In their quest for equitable, efficient and sustainable forms of prepayment, countries can choose from multiple arrangements that include allocations from general government revenues, obligatory health insurance, and modalities such as voluntary health insurance and medical saving accounts.