Equity is a central objective of most European health care systems, yet equity, particularly in the form of distributive justice, has not been a central objective of many recent health sector reforms. This article considers three aspects of the relationship between equity and recent health reforms. After defining what is meant by equity in the health sector, the author briefly examines available evidence on present levels of equality then discusses the equity implications of ongoing reforms in European health care systems.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
WhiteheadM.Is it fair? Evaluating the equity implications of the NHS reforms. In Evaluating the NHS Reforms, edited by RobinsonR.LeGrandJ., pp. 208–242. Policy Journals, Transaction Books, New Brunswick, N.J., 1994.
2.
DahlgrenG.Framtidens sjukvådrdsmarknader: Vinnare och förlorare. Natur och Kultur, Stockholm, 1994.
3.
World Health Organization. European Health Care Reform: Analysis of Current Strategies. WHO European Regional Office, Copenhagen, 1997.
4.
EvansB.BarerM.MarmorT. (eds.). Why Are Some People Healthy and Others Not?Aldine de Gruyter, New York, 1995.
5.
CulyerT.Reforming health services: Frameworks for the Swedish review. In International Review of the Swedish Health Care System, edited by CulyerA. J. Occasional Paper Nr. 34. SNS, Stockholm, 1991.
6.
van DoorselerE.WagstaffA.RuttenF. (eds.). Equity in the Finance and Delivery of Health Care: Methods and Findings. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1993.
7.
DanielsN.Just Health Care. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 1985.
8.
RawlsJ.A Theory of Justice. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1971.
9.
ChurchillL. R.Rationing Health Care in America. University of Notre Dame Press, South Bend, Ind., 1987.
10.
WalzerM.Spheres of Justice. Basic Books, New York, 1983.
11.
DahlgrenG.Personal communications, 1996.
12.
World Health Organization. Health for All Targets, Updated Ed. European Regional Office, Copenhagen, 1991.
13.
SaltmanR. B.A conceptual overview of health care reform. Eur. J. Public Health4: 287–293, 1994.
14.
SaltmanR. B.von OtterC.Planned Markets and Public Competition: Strategic Reform in Northern European Health Systems. Open University Press, Buckingham, England, 1992.
15.
DiderichsenF.Market reforms in health care and sustainability of the welfare state: Lessons from Sweden. Health Policy32: 141–153, 1995.
16.
JönssonE.Konkurrens inom sjukvården vad säger forskningen om effekterna?Spri, Stockholm, 1993.
17.
de RooA.Contracting and solidarity in health care: The Dutch experience. In Implementing Planned Markets in Health Care: Balancing Social and Economic Responsibility, edited by SaltmanR. B.von OtterC., pp. 45–64. Open University Press, Buckingham, England, 1995.
18.
WasemJ.ChinitzD.PrekerA.Balancing competition and solidarity in health care financing. In Critical Changes for European Health Policy, edited by SaltmanR. B.FiguerasJ.SakellaridesC., Open University Press, Buckingham, England, 1998, in press.
19.
ShardM.Speech presented at the Ljubljana Conference on European Health Care Reform, Ljubljana, Slovenia, June 17–20, 1996.
