Managing Financial Resource
There are financial implications for individuals accessing and using services in health care services, Evaluate the impact of these financial implication on service users. (AC 4.3)
The pursuit of equity of access to health care is a central objective of many health care systems. Yet, financial incentives can influence patients because, although the UK system is essentially ‘free at the point of use’, there are charges for specific services including eye tests, dental check-ups, and dispensing of prescription medicines. Charges can act as a deterrent to patients and as a barrier to access. The impact of user charges affects different socio-economic groups in different ways. For some groups, access may not be compromised by a co-payment, while for others the charge may represent a significant deterrent. The impact depends on the size of the co-payment and crucially depends on the patient’s ability to pay (and therefore directly links with equity considerations). The insurance market (and social insurance-based schemes such as the UK) essentially removes most of the financial barriers to access so that patients do not face the full cost of care. This in itself, of course, creates an incentive, where patients may over-consume services. Where this occurs, other patients with more pressing needs may have problems accessing services (waiting times will become longer and patients who require urgent care may be displaced). Furthermore, it is argued that insurance-based systems create a further problem, which is known as ‘moral hazard’, whereby individuals fail to take full responsibility for their own health because they do not face the full costs of any ill health associated with their behaviour (for example, smokers might not smoke if they had to pay the full costs of cancer treatment). Thus, insurance systems take away barriers to access and this may lead to inappropriate utilisation of services, or may lead to excess demand for services and the subsequent problems
The pursuit of equity of access to health care is a central objective of many health care systems. Yet, financial incentives can influence patients because, although the UK system is essentially ‘free at the point of use’, there are charges for specific services including eye tests, dental check-ups, and dispensing of prescription medicines. Charges can act as a deterrent to patients and as a barrier to access. The impact of user charges affects different socio-economic groups in different ways. For some groups, access may not be compromised by a co-payment, while for others the charge may represent a significant deterrent. The impact depends on the size of the co-payment and crucially depends on the patient’s ability to pay (and therefore directly links with equity considerations). The insurance market (and social insurance-based schemes such as the UK) essentially removes most of the financial barriers to access so that patients do not face the full cost of care. This in itself, of course, creates an incentive, where patients may over-consume services. Where this occurs, other patients with more pressing needs may have problems accessing services (waiting times will become longer and patients who require urgent care may be displaced). Furthermore, it is argued that insurance-based systems create a further problem, which is known as ‘moral hazard’, whereby individuals fail to take full responsibility for their own health because they do not face the full costs of any ill health associated with their behaviour (for example, smokers might not smoke if they had to pay the full costs of cancer treatment). Thus, insurance systems take away barriers to access and this may lead to inappropriate utilisation of services, or may lead to excess demand for services and the subsequent problems
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