NHS spending good, private provision bad?
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Economists focus on the use of scarce resources and allocation decisions, who gets what, when, how, and why. Every rationing decision involves costs and benefits.
In the UK the use of scarce labour and capital in health care
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In the UK the use of scarce labour and capital in health care, disappear into a morass of value judgements about the sanctity of The NHS treatment of patients. If money was found for low radiation scanners, which other areas of the NHS would have to give up part of their budgets? Does health care really need to be provided directly by the state? Can a nationalised provider lack the incentives to innovate? How does publicity alter the demand for such treatments?
If a low radiation heart scanner was being underused in a private hospital, should NHS managers hire its use for their patients (out of current spending), thus avoiding a high level of capital expenditure?
The focus may have been on the spending side of the equation, but pupils do need to consider how health care can be funded. Do they want lower taxes or higher insurance premiums? How strong is the case for compulsory health insurance scheme? The short clip can be used to introduce concepts like rationing, opportunity cost, normative economics, merit goods, state intervention.
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