Why a Reduction in Health Care Costs Per Se May be a Misleading Policy Objective

Rosa Abrantes-Metz, Jul 27, 2012

There is nearly universal agreement that a restructuring of the health care system is required, particularly with regard to the public financing of health care. Longevity has greatly increased, and the current public health care programs are not designed to sustainably afford such life-long additional expenses. But the policy discussions are almost always in terms of the total cost of health care, which is not, per se, a socially useful metric. Costs can rise for