Abstract Two important unresolved issues in the evaluation of health care programs are the treatment of indirect costs and the selection of the appropriate discount rate. This paper emphasizes the role of distortionary taxation in addressing these issues. It establishes that: (i) indirect...

Two important unresolved issues in the evaluation of health care programs are the treatment of indirect costs and the selection of the appropriate discount rate. This paper emphasizes the role of distortionary taxation in addressing these issues. It establishes that: (i) indirect government-paid...

Purpose – As a result of the aging of American society, health care costs have been and will continue to rise, to the extent that they are not sustainable. Obviously, this trend will continue in spite of the 2010 health care reform. As a result of this uncontrollable problem, writers such as...

Health-care systems that rely on hospitalization for early patient treatment pose a financial concern for governments. In this article, the author suggests a hospitalization prevention program in which the decision of whether to intervene on a patient depends on a simple decision model and the...

Two recent changes in health policy will likely negatively impact state budgets and the health of low-income Californians with chronic disease. The new cost-sharing for medical visits, pharmaceuticals, and inpatient stays in California’s Medcaid program (Medi-Cal) and the exclusion of the...

On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law. The law, which includes provisions to rein in the cost of health care and improve the health delivery system, will be phased in over several years. In the interim, this signature...

Americans’ health insurance coverage is not static; people cycle in and out of coverageand between sources of coverage during life transitions like losing a job, changing jobs, moving, or divorce. The Affordable Care Act creates an unprecedented opportunity to address the gaps in health coverage...

With falling prices of antiretroviral drugs in countries like India, there has been an increasing awareness that antiretroviral therapy can be made available and accessible to a large number of HIV-positive individuals. Prices, however, still remain high enough to keep ART out of reach of a...