Maximizing health benefits vs egalitarianism: an Australian survey of health issues.
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.
Nord
E
E
National Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Richardson
J
J
Street
A
A
Kuhse
H
H
Singer
P
P
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001315:Australia; D002648:Child; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D015276:Health Care Rationing; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008019:Life Style; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016377:Organ Transplantation; D018579:Patient Selection; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000191:economics*; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D040841:Resource Allocation; D012907:Smoking; D012935:Social Justice; D012945:Social Values