Analysis of Iran's health service financing policies for the elderly: Applying David Easton's political system model.

Countries around the world are experiencing growth in their older populations. In order to improve future planning, it is important to examine existing financing policies for this demographic group as the demand for health services increases with age. In this study, using David Easton's model of the political system, we have used this method to examine the main existing documents relating to health care funding policies for the elderly. The analysis has been conducted by grouping the objectives of the document by year and their inputs and by presenting the policy process and its outputs. Of the 24 documents identified in the preliminary studies and in the expert interviews, four documents were analyzed in the final phase, including the Act to Promote the Status and Grant of Welfare and Culture Facilities to the Over-60s, the National Document, the National Program for Reforming the Healthcare and Welfare System, and the Dignified Status of Iranian Older Persons. We have found that the National Plan for the Elderly was the key policy for the elderly because it was developed in a comprehensive and unified field of old age and was waiting to be implemented.