Journal profile · Health Care Sciences & Services
Health Policy
ISSN 0168-8510 · eISSN 1872-6054 · Elsevier Ireland Ltd · IRELAND · Monthly · Founded 1984
Health Policy: CAS Zone 2 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.58; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,220; median 238 days to acceptance (105 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 230 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Health Policy is published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd and is in Zone 2 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Healthcare Policy and Management, Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life and Global Health Care Issues, together about 38.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Economics and Econometrics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Health Policy - The best evidence for better policiesPublished in collaboration with the European Observatory on Health Systems and PoliciesHealth Policy aims to inform discussions about how to improve health policies by publishing high quality research articles with clear policy implications that are relevant for an international audience. It intends to enhance communication between (1) researchers analysing health systems, health policies, and health reforms and (2) legislators, decision-makers and professionals concerned with developing and implementing these policies. Health Policy is an interdisciplinary journal at the interface between health policy, health systems research, health services research, health economics, health care management, political and policy sciences, public health, and related disciplines. The focus is on high-income countries, primarily outside the US.More background on Health Policy's aims and scope is provided in this editorial (Quentin et al. 2023).Health Policy publishes articles with the following attributes:Topic: research that addresses a clear and policy relevant research question with a focus on health systems, health policies or health reforms.Regional scope: a focus on high-income countries, primarily outside the US.Methods: adequate application of quantitative and/or qualitative methods, explained in a language that is comprehensible for a broad readership from different disciplines.Content: original research or reviews that focus on policy evaluations, analyses of policy processes, cross-country comparative policy assessments, and descriptions of individual reform experiences.Interdisciplinarity: authors are encouraged to submit research that results from interdisciplinary collaboration.Policy relevance: research findings that have direct implications for and the potential to contribute to better health policies.International relevance: research that has implications for policy-makers and researchers from several countries.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Health Care Sciences & Services
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Germany 12, United Kingdom 9, Italy 7, Netherlands 6, Belgium 4 (64 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Healthcare Policy and ManagementEconomics, Econometrics and Finance15.3%
- Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of LifeEconomics, Econometrics and Finance12.8%
- Global Health Care IssuesHealth Professions10.5%
- Primary Care and Health OutcomesHealth Professions7.5%
- Healthcare Systems and ReformsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.8%
- Pharmaceutical Economics and PolicyEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.3%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering3.6%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Health Care Sciences & Services | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Health Policy & Services | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Health Care Sciences & Services | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Health Policy & Services | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Health Care Sciences & Services | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Health Policy & Services | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIESSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 4.58LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 4.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.44LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.8LetPub ·
- h-index
- 79LetPub ·
- h-index
- 161OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 3,524OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.69OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 63.03%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 201LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 6,591 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 159 | 113 | 41 |
| 2025 | 230 | 165 | 715 |
| 2024 | 170 | 130 | 1,864 |
| 2023 | 156 | 99 | 1,940 |
| 2022 | 164 | 120 | 2,545 |
| 2021 | 179 | 117 | 5,053 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
238 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 135 days – 339 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 1 days (105 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 240 days
- Sample
- 105 articles with submission and acceptance dates (427 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- 3–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 8 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 102 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 236 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,220 / EUR 3,950 / GBP 3,380 / JPY 523,410 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 4,040 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Open calls for papers2, by deadline
Publisher websiteArticle types accepted6
- cross-country comparative analysesCross-country comparative analyses: These can also be longer papers (max. 6,000 words) that examine certain policies/reforms or characteristics of health system…Length not stated
- full-length articles (flas)Full-length articles (FLAs): FLAs are traditional research papers (max. 4,000 words) that present the background, methods, results, discussion, and conclusions …Length not stated
- health reform monitor (hrm) papersHealth Reform Monitor (HRM) papers: HRM papers are short papers (max. 3,000 words) that are intended to describe current or ongoing reforms and regulations in d…Length not stated
- letters to the editorHealth Policy is interested in publishing debate among readers in the form of short (max. 300 word) Letters to the Editor on published papers and replies by the…Length not stated
- policy commentsPolicy comments: This is a category of short (max. 1,500 words) articles that focus on a policy relevant topicLength not stated
- review articlesReview articles: Review articles (including systematic reviews, scoping reviews, realist reviews, or narrative reviews) are longer papers (max. 6,000 words) tha…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
1 to 7 keywords required Model summary
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
Data statement encouraged Model summary
To foster transparency, you are encouraged to state the availability of any data at submission.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Double anonymized peer review
Double anonymized peer review Model summary
This journal follows a double anonymized review process which means author identities are concealed from reviewers and vice versa. To facilitate the double anonymized review process, we ask that you provide your title page (including author details) and anonymized manuscript (excluding author details) separately in your submission. The title page should include: Article titleAuthor name(s)Affiliat…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharing allowed Model summary
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication. In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint and early research …
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ireland Ltd
- Country or region
- IRELAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1984
- ISSN
- 0168-8510
- Electronic ISSN
- 1872-6054
- Society / sponsor
- European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Health Policy
What CAS zone is Health Policy in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Health Policy is in Zone 2 of Medicine, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Health Care Sciences & Services / Health Policy & Services. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Health Policy?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.58; CiteScore 7, h-index 161.
How long does peer review take at Health Policy?
Based on the dates recorded on 105 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 238 days (interquartile range 135–339 days); authors report an average review time of 3–8 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Health Policy based?
Of the 64 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Germany (12), United Kingdom (9) and Italy (7). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Health Policy?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Health Policy is indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Is Health Policy open access, and what is the APC?
Health Policy is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,220.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .