title: Punishing the lemon: the ethics of actuarial fairness.
abstract: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act rejects the notion that actuarial fairness is a normative ideal. The author discusses the ethics of actuarial fairness and attempts to draw a distinction between actuarial fairness and moral fairness. The ethics of wellness programs are discussed with both actuarial fairness and moral fairness in mind. The potential tension between physicians and patients in the zealous pursuit of healthy goals is described. Finally, the logical end point of actuarial fairness with the widespread availability of genetic information is highlighted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. saurabh.jha@uphs.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Saurabh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jha
mesh_terms: D000206:Actuarial Analysis / Q000941:ethics*; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000941:ethics*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000941:ethics*; D058991:Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act / Q000941:ethics*; D012935:Social Justice / Q000941:ethics*; D014481:United States