The splendours and miseries of combined healthcare financing

Česká verzia

Authors: T. Zelený ¹; V. Bencko ²
Authors place of work: Institut ekonomických studií, Fakulta sociálních věd, Univerzita Karlova v Praze Ředitel: PhDr. Martin Gregor, PhD. ¹; Ústav hygieny a epidemiologie, 1. Lékařská fakulta, Univerzita Karlova v Praze Přednosta: doc. MUDr. Milan Tuček, CSc. ²
Published in the journal: Prakt. Lék. 2011; 91(4): 206-209
Category: Of different specialties

Summary

This article analyses two attributes of health care systems. The first is the continual growth of health expenditure seen right across the western world; and the second is the efficiency of mixed health care systems in select countries, of which combined healthcare financing is one, with significant private and public sector involvement. The countries that have been selected are the

– USA (as the country with the highest influence of the private sector in health care),

– France (with its middling influence), and

– Japan, where the private sector is allowed input into health care but is very strictly regulated by a zero profit rule.

The result is that the systems with greater private sector influence tend to have lesser occupancy, worse quality factors and significantly higher expenditure. This suggests the hypothesis that the influence of the private sector on health care is negatively correlated to its efficiency. The confirmation or refutal of this hypothesis is left for further more detailed analysis.

Key words:
health care, private sector, public sector, efficiency, expenditure, trends, financing.

Zdroje

1. Bencko, V. Primární prevence nemocí: Současná úskalí a šance. Prak. Lék. 2011, 91, 3, s. 127-130.

2. Blanchflower, G. Happiness and health care coverage. University of Stirling, Dartmouth College, Discussion Paper No. 4450, 2009. Dostupný na http://ftp.iza.org/dp4450.pdf.

3. Buchmueller, T., Valleta, R. Health insurance costs and declining coverage. FRBSF Economic Letter, 2006, 25, September 29. Dostupný na http://www.frbsf.org/publications/economics/letter/2006/el2006-25.html.

4. David, U., Himmelstein, D., Thorne, D. et al. Medical bankruptcy in the United States, 2007: results of a national study. Am. J. Med. 2009, 122(8), p. 741-746.

5. Hitiris, T. Health care expenditure and cost containment in the G7 countries. University of York, Department of Economics, Discussion paper in economics 99/15, p. 1-18. Dostupný na http://www. york.ac.uk/media/economics/documents/discussionpapers/1999/9915.pdf.

6. Mattoon, H.R. Can the states solve the health care crisis? Economic Perspectives, 1992, 16(6), p. 15-27. Dostupné na http://www.chicagofed.org/ digital_assets/publications/economic_perspectives/1992/ep_nov_dec1992_part2_mattoon.pdf.

7. Nolte, E, Marti, C. Measuring the health of nations: updating an earlier analysis. Health Affairs 2008, 27(1), p. 58-71.

8. NationMaster. Crime statistics. Murders (per capita) (most recent) by country [on-line]. Dostupné na http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_ percap-crime-murders-per-capita.

9. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). OECD Health Data 2010 - Frequently Requested Data [on-line]. Dostupné na http://www.oecd.org/document/16/0,3746,en_2649_34631_2085200_1_1_1_1,00.html.

10. United States Courts. Growth in Bankruptcy Filings Slows In Calendar Year 2010 [on-line]. Dostupné na

http://www.uscourts.gov/News/ NewsView/11-02-15/Growth_in_Bankruptcy_Filings_Slows_In_ Calendar_Year_2010.aspx?CntPageID=1

11. US Department of Health&Human Services. Total personal health care spending, by age group, calendar years, 1987, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2004 [on-line]. Dostupné na https://www.cms.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/downloads/2004-age-tables.pdf.