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Co-payments in the NHS: an analysis of the normative arguments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2010

Albert Weale  and
Sarah Clark
Albert Weale
Affiliation:
Professor, Department of Government, University of Essex, UK
Sarah Clark*
Affiliation:
Research Officer, Department of Government, University of Essex, UK
*
Correspondence to: Sarah Clark, Department of Government, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

During 2008, some forms of patient co-payments – in particular, patients paying privately for additional medicines as part of an episode of care in the National Health Service – became controversial in political and policy terms in the UK. In response, the UK Government published a report, the Richards’ Review, examining the issues. Richards offered a particular policy solution, but also touched on fundamental principles of social value. Using the methods of normative policy analysis, we seek to understand these principles of social value, accepting the Richards’ framework according to which the relevant arguments can be grouped under the broad headings of equity and autonomy. None of the arguments on either side are decisive, and, in part, the policy decision turns on uncertain empirical conjectures.

Type
Articles
Information
Health Economics, Policy and Law , Volume 5 , Issue 2 , April 2010 , pp. 225 - 246
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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