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Maximizing health benefits vs egalitarianism: An Australian survey of health issues

Erik Nord, Jeff Richardson (jeffrey.richardson@monash.edu), Andrew Street, Helga Kuhse and Peter Singer

Social Science & Medicine, 1995, vol. 41, issue 10, 1429-1437

Abstract: Economists have often treated the objective of health services as being the maximization of the QALYs gained, irrespective of how the gains are distributed. In a cross section of Australians such a policy of distributive neutrality received: (a) very little support when health benefits to young people compete with health benefits to the elderly; (b) only moderate support when those who can become a little better compete with those who can become much better; (c) only moderate support when smokers compete with non smokers; (d) some support when young children compete with newborns; and (e) wide spread support when parents of dependent children compete with people without children. Overall, the views of the study population were strongly egalitarian. A policy of health benefit maximization received very limited support when the consequence is a loss of equity and access to services for the elderly and for people with a limited potential for improving their health.

Keywords: QALY; equity; egalitarian; priority; health; economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1995
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (63)

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