Universal Heatlh Care
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jan/06/-sp-universal-healthcare-the-affordable-dream-amartya-sen
Amartya Sen has produced an excellent discussion piece in the Guardian today about the experience of introducing universal health care in unexpected places, including Rwanda, Bangladesh and Thailand, as well as some states in India. He successfully tackles many of the standard protests from neoliberals who fear socialised health care as an infringement on their right to be selfish, miserable, acquisitive bstrds.
He notices that health care is labour intensive, but as a result far less expensive in developing countries where wages are low. It has to be affordable, but whatever the country can afford, it is more effectively and equitably delivered through universal coverage. Markets allocate health benefits very inefficiently he found, for reasons including the asymmetrical flow of information. Private health care, indeed, operates more effectively alongside universal care, because without (public sector) competition, people have no choice and so it has less incentive to improve. Health is a collective good - it can cost far less to cover more people. Infectious diseases certainly do not confine their impact to the poor - within or between countries - while good primary care and preventive programmes can avert far more costly treatment later in the disease cycle.
He shows that universal health care not only delivers superior health benefits but also directly and measurably enhances the economic performance of the entire community, state or country. He cites the example of the Indian state of Kerala which transformed from one of the poorest to one of the most economically successful states in India as a result of introducing universal health care and universal schooling.
I like his quote from Paul Farmer: "Claims that we live in an era of limited resources fail to mention that these resources happen to be less limited now than ever before in human history."
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