Funding HPF

Health Promotion Foundations can be funded through a variety of methods:

• An earmarked tax on tobacco (e.g. VicHealth and Healthway pre 1996)
• A combination of earmarked taxes on tobacco and alcohol (e.g. ThaiHealth and KIHASA)
• A levy on health insurance (e.g. Health Promotion Switzerland)
• An appropriation from Treasury budgets (e.g. Austrian HPF)
• Non-government organisation funding (e.g. Health 21 Hungary)

However a dedicated levy from a tobacco or alcohol tax means that the funding for a Foundation does not come from the general health budget, and therefore does not have to compete directly in the same budget bidding processes with other claims on the health budget, especially acute care services.

Documents about Earmarking Taxes for Health Promotion:
The Establishment and use of Dedicated Taxes for Health
Tobacco Tax Earmarking Experiences in Different Countries