ABSTRACT
In economists' terms, health care is predominantly provided on a market basis. The unpredictability of need is one of several ways in which health care is different, and the unpredictability involves both timing and treatment. In the scenario of individual responsibility for medical bills, the equity of health care distribution would necessarily mirror the equity of income distribution in the society. Health insurers competing for corporate contracts have moved away from community rating to experience rating and have been pushing so far that the very concept of insurance as a pooling of risk is being lost. Marketing strategies aimed at selection of the healthiest persons is another approach to lower costs, but one that can purposely impede access for less healthy persons. Health care is a labor-intensive industry, so rising personnel costs have a greater impact than in more equipment-oriented businesses such as those dealing in electric power generation and distribution.
