EQUITY IN THE FINANCE AND DELIVERY OF HEALTH CARE: SOME TENTATIVE CROSS-COUNTRY COMPARISONS

Abstract

Equity is widely acknowledged to be an important
\ngoal in the field of health care. Indeed, McLachlan
\nand Maynard (1982) have gone so far as to suggest
\nthat' the vast majority of the population would elect
\nfor equity to be the prime consideration' (p. 556)—a
\nview endorsed by Mooney (1986, p. 145). Several
\nresearchers have investigated how successful their
\nown country's delivery and/or financing system is
\nin achieving its stated equity goals. In general the
\nstrategy of these studies is to compare the current situation with some ideal or 'target* situation. Le
\nGrand (1978), for example, in what has become a
\nclassic study in the field, compares the distributions
\nacross socio-economic groups of illness and public
\nexpenditure on health care in Britain in 1972, and
\nconcludes that the National Health Service (NHS)
\nhas failed to achieve equity in the delivery of health
\ncare.