This document defines key concepts related to health care financing including definitions of health care financing, sources of health service financing, and mechanisms or types of health financing. It also outlines principles of health care financing. Specifically, it discusses five main mechanisms of health financing: general taxes, social insurance, private insurance, community financing, and direct out-of-pocket payments. It then outlines 10 principles that health care financing systems should uphold, including being focused on health, universal, publicly administered, free at the point of access, equitable, centered on care, responsive to needs, rewarding quality, cost-effective, and accountable.