Principles in Health Economics and Policy, Second Edition

Edited by Jan Abel Olsen



Examining the different structures and techniques involved in making decisions about who benefits from those health care resources available in a publicly funded system, this book is a concise and compact introduction to health economics and policy. It introduces the subject of economics, explains the fundamental failures in the market for health care and discusses the concepts of equity and fairness when applied to health and health care.

Written for students and health professionals with no background in economics, this new edition has been fully updated and revised. It now provides a more policy-oriented appraoch than before, emphasizing the application of economic analysis to health policy issues. User-friendly and filled with non-specialist language and easily understandable mathematics, this volume addresses a range of universal health policy issues through the application of health economic analyses. Exploring key questions currently facing health policy makers across the globe, it asks: how should society intervene in the determinants that affect health?; how should health care be financed?; how should health care providers be paind?; and how should alternative health care programs be evaluated when setting priorities?

With exercises and suggested further reading lists at the end of each chapter, Principles in Health Economics and Policy, 2nd edition, is an ideal resource for students and health professionals. It is the perfect place to find a clear and concise policy relevant introduction to the application of health economics to health care funding from a unique economics perspective that cannot be found anywhere else.

Table of Contents

Part 1 - Concepts and context
1. Health and health care
2. Economics and efficiency
3. What makes the market for health care different?
4. Equality and fairness

Part 2 - Intervening in the determinants of health
5. The health environment
6. Health related life style

Part 3 - Financing health care
7. Uncertainty and health insurance
8. Compulsory insurance
9. Patient payment

Part 4 - Paying health care providers
10. Primary care
11. Secondary care - reimbursing hospitals
12. Integrating the health care provider system

Part 5 - Economic evaluation and priority setting
13. Non-monetary effects (E) and monetary benefits (B)
14. Costs (C) and discounting (r)
15. Beyond costs and outcomes: Equity and fairness

Epilogue