Public Finance Principles and National Health Care Reform

Richard Zeckhauser

Journal of Economic Perspectives, 1994, vol. 8, issue 3, 55-60

Abstract: Public finance principles, though usually treated as a minor consideration, lie at the heart of effective national health care reform. Four principles are discussed: charge for a service where its cost is created; distinguish rents, resources, and transfers; know what services cost and pay accordingly; balance distributional and equity concerns. The principles' implications include: since employment does not much affect health costs, financing (particularly of incremental insureds) need not be employer-based; health resources being immobile, many cutbacks in expenditure will not reflect real resource savings; and health care financing should mesh with an overall program of taxation and expenditure.

JEL-codes: I11 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1994
Note: DOI: 10.1257/jep.8.3.55
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