Question

The special interest group theory states that the political venue can be treated like any private market for goods and services so that amounts and types of legislation are determined by supply and demand for such legislation The successful politician stays in office by combining legislative programs of various special interest groups into an overall fiscal package to be advanced in the political arena. The government can promote efficiency and equity by providing public goods, levying taxes, correcting for externalities, imposing regulations, enforcing antitrust laws, operating public enterprises, and sponsoring redistribution programs.

What criterion should be using to analyze the impact of healthcare reform on insurance coverage, health system and patient outcome and financing success or failure?

Answer 1

The issues of public policy need sound scrutiny before the policy is termed as successful. Health is one of the sectors where the government intervention at a large scale is desirable. However government intervention should not only be at a large scale but also effective. The issue of impact of healthcare reform on insurance coverage has to be analyzed in the light of the fact that the insurance schemes are to be made available to the underprivileged sections of the society as equitably as to the well-off sections of the population. Here is the concern for proper targeting of public services. However there is a problem of moral hazard associated with non-optimal provision of insurance coverage in the sense that if too little insurance coverage is provided then people are deprived of medical care however if too much of insurance coverage is provided hen people will tend to overuse the facilities and medical practitioners have to supply those goods and services which means that more resources are being used up in the health sector. However this means less resources are available for uses in education and other significant areas. Next, coming to the issue of health system, it is to be appreciated that health system implies both the production, delivering and consumption of medical services and its sustainability both from an individual point of view or from the point of view of the economy as a whole. A proper policy on health reform will ensure that the production and consumption is smooth and hassle free which involves an effective delivery of services. Moreover it is to be ensured that these products are properly priced so that the quantities of medical services are optimal. The patient outcome is inseparable from insurance coverage and proper health system functioning. When the health system is good then the patient outcome is better provided that it is affordable. Affordability is linked to insurance again. Finally financing is proper in case that there is not too much profit making by the suppliers which exploit the patients nor should there be losses because if there is loss then suppliers will not provide medical services and the health system will cease to exist.