The Realities of Rationing: 'Priority Setting' in the NHS: No. 50. (Choice in Welfare S.) - Softcover

Spiers, John; Etc.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0255364539 ISBN 13: 9780255364539

Publisher: Institute of Economic Affairs Health & Welfare Uni, 1999

Synopsis

In The Realities of Rationing, John Spiers argues that the structure of the NHS embodies the collectivist assumptions of the 1940s which have become increasingly irrelevant in the modern world. By removing the price mechanism, replacing it with subsidy and rationing, and stifling competition, it has created the classic recipe for scarcity. The problems which result, including delays in treatment, decisions not to treat or to withhold the latest and more expensive treatments, are therefore endemic to the NHS. They would not be solved by increasing budgets, because rationing is the fundamental pathology of the present NHS system.

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Review

As Professor John Spiers shows ... services are rationed in an irrational way. A patient's access to expensive treatments often depends on where he or she lives. -- The Times, 30.04.99

John Spiers ... writes that European and other healthcare systems based on locally pooled insurance systems are fairer and better than the National Health Service. Melanie Phillips, -- The Sunday Times, 2.05.99

The case for making choice and competition central to health policy is admirably set out ... by Professor John Spiers. -- The Sunday Telegraph, 2.05.99

Edition details

• Publisher: Institute of Economic Affairs Health & Welfare Uni
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0255364539
• ISBN 13: 9780255364539
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 163