Question

Please write a long explanation on rationing in health care. Please compare rationing in public and private health care system. Please provide your suggestions or solutions from an economist’s point of view.

Answer 1

Rationing in Healthcare:

Rationing refers to the allocation and limitation of some products and services. Health care sector are facing various challenges such as unlimited demands, increasing costs, and scarcity of resources. Rationing in Health care means to measure the limitation of access and equal distribution of medical services among people. It ristricts the people to use of health services due to limitation of budget. The rationing decision in Healthcare can be classified as a situation when a treatment of patient is refused by health care provider insurance company. The health providers make their decision on the basis of who need resources the most, cost effectiveness of policy and maximum benefited treatment to the society. Rationing can be used by health care policy-makers, health care managers, health care providers and patients.

Comparison between rationing in public and private health care system:

• While rationing policies, the resources of private health care system are less ristriction as compare to public health care system, this is because of demand driven in private health care goods & services.
• Health services in public health care is less expensive due to which the patients face severe rationing mechanisms, therefore, private healthcare are more expensive but rationing policies are much less severe.
• Rationing policies of public health care are more severe due to the availability of limited resources where public sector are supply driven whereas private health care are demand driven which faces less resource constraints during rationing policies with minimum severe as compare to public healthcare. It can be said that the public sector use more strict rationing policies due to provide of lower prices or free healthcare services in the public sector.
• Rationing in public healthcare impact on the demand for services in the private health sector such as patients who face rationed during public health services sometimes move towards private sector services and willing to pay high cost.

Suggestions can be followed as per below mentioned points:

• Rationing in Healthcare must be oriented to the common good for people and it is a social good belonging to all population of a country.
• Atleast basic level of Healthcare services must be available to all public
• The healthcare rationing should be applied at all people without looking personal benefit or differences between rich and poor, old and young etc.
• Rationing in Healthcare should not be done wrongful discrimination based on age, gender, race, religion, caste, education etc.
• The impact of Rationing in Healthcare on social and economical must be monitored that will lead to grow in the health care sector of a country which is good as per economic growth perspective.