Consideration of adequate minimum standards for health services usually fails to distinguish among the underlying interpretations of the problem-poverty, wastefulness, or harmfulness. Proposed “redistributive” programs, then, must specify what it is that is to be redistributed; the shortages may not be where expected. Government as guarantor of rights may be more effective in health services than as provider of programs. Adequate standards will best be advanced through adequate financial assistance.
Author(s): Thomas C. Schelling
Volume 57, Issue 2 (pages 212–233)
Published in 1979
