Ethical Issues in Health Care Finance

The topic of ethical problems in every industry is usually intriguing since it attracts a substantial variety of scholars and professionals to argue. This topic becomes much more fascinating when it concerns health care funding. Ethical concerns in health care financing start, when defining human health. Human health is a fundamental requirement (Maharaj and Paul, 2011).

It does not matter what kind of health challenges a person has and whether an individual is in a developed nation or not. The concern with human health is that, all human beings require health proper treatment when they require it.

Nevertheless, the healthcare system appears pressing when it concerns financing. Healthcare funding source from a specific occurs at the at the point of shipment otherwise known as charges for services does not seem to have a considerable impact in the required healthcare financing (Hurley, 2001). It is essential to leave people as entities that spend for healthcare out of funding the health care industry and focus on the government, private firms such as insurance coverages and donors.

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The ethical concerns in health care financing questions whether the major health care investors: the federal government and insurer can justify paying for treatment for all human in the country.

The argument with healthcare funding is that governments can spend for high medical technology development in terms of complex medical devices and new treatment technologies. It is necessary to comprehend that although sophisticated medical development remain in location, there is a concern as to whether specific patients will the able to afford treatment utilizing this innovative technology (Maharaj and Paul, 2011). If private clients will not pay for to utilize new treatment innovations, then it will be most likely that the new development in medical innovations are a direct preserves of those with an upper financial benefit. This contrasts the equity needed in the health care system since health is fundamental requirement and therefore should be offered for all. High expense of medical technological treatment and a few populations who can not individually afford for this treatment are not the only issues that raise medical treatment. The insurance coverage market is the best gamer in the healthcare industry.

The insurance industry provides medical policies for every eligible citizen. While the insurance arrangement for healthcare financing is justified through the assumption that country men and women are participating in sharing cost in paying up hospital bills. However, there is a crisis with the health insurance, which has raised significant ethical issues. This issues range from existence of different types of policies for different people and the issues that, the insurance company rather than the doctor determines the type of treatment the patient will get because of different categorized policies. Another incidence of inequality sets in even in with the insurance. Just like individual patient might not afford to pay high tech medical treatment at the point of delivery, the same is happening in the insurance industry because insurances now require different policies for different individual (Maharaj and Paul, 2011).

These different policies characterize people according to their risk such that, people of high risk pay more premiums that people of low risk. If this policy categorization is justified then there will be a new inequality that will set in. This inequality will arise from those who pay for high premiums and might never have to go to hospital unless an accident occurs. Health care financing will seem to be a long term debate bombarded with ethical issues that take long to solve. These ethical dilemma although exist to offer ready solutions in healthcare financing, the whole issue boils down to whether the current happening in the health care industry offers beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy and justice.

Reference
Maharaj, S.R. and Paul, TJ. (2011). Ethical Issues in Healthcare Financing. West Indian Medical Journal. 60. (4): 31-44 Hurley, J. (2001). Ethics, economics, and public financing of health care. Journal of Medical Ethics. 27. (4): 234-239.