Thursday, April 01, 2010

Health Care Issue is the most complicated and ethically controversial issue in public sector economics

I know the dispute concerning health care and the national insurance the most complicated issue in public sector economics. It is extremely controversial and concerns with the ethical issue when we declair to privatise them without a condition. But, on the other hand, the nationalisation (or any sort of public sector ownership) makes the system breaks the trust based relationship between doctors and patients (Prof. Milton Friedman mentioned in his "Freedom of Choice").

Everyone has almost the same risk to be sick or harmed regardless of any status. Generally speaking, nobody wants to be sick and harmed all the time and avoid being sick and harmed as much as possible i.e. everyone is risk averse.

Therefore, it is difficult to deal with the risk premium.

The incentive for inovators of new technilogy to make a profit is important. In the short run, and probably in the medium run as well, the price may rise dramatically. But in the long run the price will be calmed down and the technology invented will be shared among other agencies as well i.e. the supply increases.

Nonetheless, it must face the problem of monopoly in this market which has been seen in the USA. When we excessively rely on the saving of patients, economy won't be developed and progressed further as the economic multiplier will be shrunk. The private insurance scheme causes the "free riding" problem. One company with richer customers will monopolise the market and the other insurance companies faces bankruptcy or charges a huge cost on customers. Therefore, the collective responsiblity is eventually required.

In the past, the health care system was based on a very smaller schale so that we did not need a huge distribution system.

But, nowadays, there are so much stuff to administrate technology, information, and risks involved in dairy life (e.g. trafic, new diseases, longer life expectancy has brought more concerns about illnesses during the life as well).


All in all, it is very complicated, and all the economists are struggling with dealing with this issue...