Justice and Fairness in the U.S. Healthcare System
An interesting article appears in the Fall 2012 issue of the “The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics” titled “Justice and Fairness: A Critical Element in U.S. Health System Reform,” written by Paul T. Menzel. In the article Paul discusses how unfettered competitive markets in health insurance generate market failure. The market failure of course is the fact that in an unfettered competitive market, health insurance will inevitably be out of reach for many (even most) of those who desire and need it most. In the article Paul discusses a term he coins the Just Sharing principle “The financial burdens of medical misfortunes ought to be shared equally by well and ill alike, unless individuals can be reasonably expected to control those misfortunes by their own choices.” Paul goes on to say “Just Sharing is incompatible with pre-existing condition exclusions, … Read more