Abstract

The central theme in this book has been the evaluation of the moral aspects of health care distribution in a managed care environment. Based on empirical data as well as philosophical arguments, it is fair to say that the distribution of health care within the concept of managed care poses challenges to the notion of fairness. It is fully recognized and understood that economics urges the need for constituting a redistribution model of health care. However, introducing good economic reasons to the debate does not imply that the proposed solutions are also morally valid. In other words, the issue at hand is the moral acceptability of redistributing health care through the concept of managed care operating in a free-market environment. Emphasis is placed on the way MCOs internally go about the authority for distributive decision-making.