Post-War American Health Care: The Many Costs of Market Failure

INTERNAL MARKETS IN HEALTH CARE CAVEAT EMPTOR

“…Navarro (1991, p. 383), in commenting on internal market reforms proposed for the British National Health Service, suggests that administrative costs will be inflated by the need to monitor, enforce and re-negotiate market contracts with providers. A number of authors have noted the relationship between the costs of administration and reliance on markets for the provision of health care (Woolhandler and Himmelstein, 1991; Quam, 1989).…”

An Economic Review of the NHS White Paper

“…around .€6O,OOO,OOO in the UK). Quam (1989) found that the resource costs resulting from increased competition in the USA rose by 160% between 1981 and 1986, and now account for 22% of total expenditure (Himmelstein and Woolhandle, 1986). Comparisons with the NHS are difficult, but most estimates have been between 5-10%.…”