Date : 2002-
Editeur / Publisher : Dordrecht : Kluwer , 2002-2014
Type : Périodique / Serial
Langue / Language : anglais / English
Accès en ligne / online access
Accès en ligne / online access
Résumé / Abstract : The demand for health care will surely continue to increase in the future. How to finance the cost of that care will remain on the policy agenda. In the public domain, expenditures on health services will always compete with other uses of tax funds, such as defence and education; the debate about the magnitude of the government's involvement in health care is here to stay. In the private sector, payment for health services not covered by government - in the form of insurance premiums and direct payment - competes with other consumption spending and saving. The problem of how to finance health care in either sector must be addressed, with general tax financing, social insurance, and private financing as alternatives.Knowledge of why people choose alternative arrangements, either in markets or through the political process, is one key to understanding the problem. In addition, choices with regard to the financing of health care are also crucial, because they determine methods of payment for health care, and payment methods in turn influence the supply decisions of health care providers. This creates an important connection between the financing of a health care system and its performance. The problems of financing and the links among financing, payment, and performance will constitute the core topics of International Journal of Health Care Finance and Economics.