EDITORIAL - Uncomfortable arithmetic - whom to cover versus what to cover

[Guest guest]

Uncomfortable Arithmetic — Whom to Cover versus What to Cover

Posted by NEJM • December 16th, 2009

Baicker, Ph.D., and Amitabh Chandra, Ph.D.

Much of the current debate about expanding health insurance coverage

avoids addressing an uncomfortable trade-off: with a limited budget,

making benefits more generous means being able to cover fewer people.

Moreover, designing insurance benefits that are limited to coverage of

higher-value care but are extended to more people will generate

greater improvements in health than providing unlimited care for fewer

people. Policymakers and patient advocates are reluctant to

acknowledge that in a world of scarce resources it will not be enough

to eliminate waste: we will have to make active choices in our public

insurance programs between increasing the number of people covered and

increasing the generosity of that coverage.

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Read the full editorial here:

http://healthcarereform.nejm.org/?p=2582 & query=TOC

Not an MD