Benchmarks of Fairness for Health Care Reform [Hardcover]

This book addresses probing questions by translating the general moral concept of fairness into specific criteria for measuring the fairness of proposals for health reform. The authors demonstrate how concerned members of the public and policy makers can apply their benchmarks by actually scoring four major proposals for health care reform exemplifying the most prevalent ideas of the 1990s. They pay particular attention to the moral foundation of reforms based on competition. Although some reform ideas fare better than others, all are found weak in establishing open, democratic procedures for deciding the limits of care. The book also appraises the changes caused by the rapid growth of managed care systems since the collapse of national reform. Written by a leading moral philosopher of health care, an internationally known sociologist, and a health economist,Benchmarks ofFairnessshould be read by citizens, physicians, nurses, employers, and politicians.

1. Fairness and the Politics of Health Care Reform
2. American Values and the Fairness of Health Care Reform
3. Benchmarks of Fairness
4. Using the Benchmarks to Score Insurance Reform
5. Using the Benchmarks to Score Health Care Reform
6. Reorganization or Reform? The Fairness of Current Trends
7. Prospects for Fair Reform

Though dormant, the national health care debate is far from over. We still lack, however, good standards and guidelines for the organization of a decent health care system in the United States. This book makes an enormous contribution toward that critically important goal, setting out standards of fairness, providing us with guidelines to find the right direction here, and giving us the ingredients necessary for a far better debate the next time. --Daniel Callahan, President,The Hastings Center

This book delivers marvelously what it promises--a serious discussion of issues of fairness. It does so with an ingenious combination olC#