Analysis Of Dworkin's Justice And High Cost Of Health Care

In “Justice and High Cost of Health Care”, Ronald Dworkin takes a broad view of health care and addresses how much should be spent and how it should be distributed among society. He argues that we should approach health care allocation using his “prudent insurance” model as a guide. By making us sensitive to the financial balance between health care and other goods, Dworkin explains why his model is superior to the traditional “rescue principle” which definitively places life and health above all other values. His insurance scheme seeks to replace this flawed convention with an economically sustainable, and more importantly, just solution. After explaining the main tenets of Dworkin’s argument, I will draw attention to its major flaws and …show more content…
He remarks that despite the exorbitant amount spent on health care, Americans do not receive proportionally better health outcomes. Moreover, American health insurance spending is unjustly distributed in that a large part of the population goes without any coverage at all. He identifies three key underlying features of this inconsistency: skewed distributions of wealth, patient’s lack of full medical knowledge, and discrimination by insurance companies of unhealthy individuals. If these unjust barriers were not present, Dworkin argues that most rational people would indeed pursue securing health care. Thus it follows then, that in the real world it must be injustice preventing them from doing …show more content…
Trying to provide fully-comprehensive insurance is not feasible, nor is it necessary. For one, we do not have infinite resources; we don’t even have enough to ensure universal access to those that are “proven therapies” (London 238). But even if we did, it would be economically taxing on citizens who must integrate the costs of health care, into their evaluation of other more immediate and predictable goods and services. Thus, the utility of Dworkin’s model is explained by the trade-offs and cost-benefit analysis it forces people to consider. By putting all expenditures in competition with one another, Dworkin’s model corrects American’s misperception about health care costs. Our current model of insurance has removed us from the direct purchasing process; thus we do not appreciate that we are spending our own money. This distortion has led to cavalier spending. But, if we were instead faced with the choice between sacrificing our prospects of owning a home, traveling, or pursuing various other passions, in order to afford exhaustive insurance, Dworkin argues we might think twice. From our value judgments, we would then set specific boundaries for medical care