Cost Issues in Medical Ethics
Understanding the Price: Cost Issues in Medical Ethics
By: S. Michael Robinson
PHL 310
MacDowell
Understanding the Price: Cost Issues in Medical Ethics Medical ethicists contend with scores of contentious and controversial issues, yet no issue affects such a broad sector of the population as issues of medical cost and cost responsibility. Beyond mere policy debate, an ethical analysis of medical costs must consider all aspects of health, from research, practice methodology, and public health policy, but also legal, social and economic factors that impact health. This document will revue these issues and focus on three core questions: Does society or the individual bear the ethical burden of cost issues, is there an ethical argument to limit liberties or privileges in the interest of reducing health costs and to what extent should cost efficiency be a factor applied when determining care? As we enter the 21st century, experts foresee a looming crisis in providing healthcare within the United States. Government entitlements, such as Medicare and Medicaid, face impending insolvency, private employers seek to remove medical expenses to reduce costs and insurers raise premiums and co-pays, preventing many citizens from obtaining adequate healthcare. Establishing an effective and ethical response to the issues of health care remains a top priority of planners, policymakers and politicians in the coming years.
PERSONAL RESPONSABILITY VERSUS SOCEITAL OBLIGATION Health care carries the burden of cost. Who carries the burden of this cost faces constant debate in the fields of philosophy, economics and medicine. On one hand, the individual, who is the primary beneficiary of health care benefits, holds a responsibility to repay the costs incurred by the benefits in question. The opposite perspective views the individual as a societal component, insured to good health as a benefit of membership to the larger whole. As the individual benefits society, so society
By: S. Michael Robinson
PHL 310
MacDowell
Understanding the Price: Cost Issues in Medical Ethics Medical ethicists contend with scores of contentious and controversial issues, yet no issue affects such a broad sector of the population as issues of medical cost and cost responsibility. Beyond mere policy debate, an ethical analysis of medical costs must consider all aspects of health, from research, practice methodology, and public health policy, but also legal, social and economic factors that impact health. This document will revue these issues and focus on three core questions: Does society or the individual bear the ethical burden of cost issues, is there an ethical argument to limit liberties or privileges in the interest of reducing health costs and to what extent should cost efficiency be a factor applied when determining care? As we enter the 21st century, experts foresee a looming crisis in providing healthcare within the United States. Government entitlements, such as Medicare and Medicaid, face impending insolvency, private employers seek to remove medical expenses to reduce costs and insurers raise premiums and co-pays, preventing many citizens from obtaining adequate healthcare. Establishing an effective and ethical response to the issues of health care remains a top priority of planners, policymakers and politicians in the coming years.
PERSONAL RESPONSABILITY VERSUS SOCEITAL OBLIGATION Health care carries the burden of cost. Who carries the burden of this cost faces constant debate in the fields of philosophy, economics and medicine. On one hand, the individual, who is the primary beneficiary of health care benefits, holds a responsibility to repay the costs incurred by the benefits in question. The opposite perspective views the individual as a societal component, insured to good health as a benefit of membership to the larger whole. As the individual benefits society, so society
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