Role of the public sector in health care (economics) Essay

Role of the public sector in health care (economics) - Essay Example The ethics and economics of this determination require collaboration between the various entities that are affected by this social decision. The following paper will give an overview of the background on why having a public healthcare system is an important social responsibility for a state. Once the foundation has been established through economics and ethics, the way in which the system works in Canada will be examined and reported. The paper will then go into a discussion of the economics of public healthcare through theoretical exploration. A comparison of Canadian and United States philosophical debates about the economic issues of a public healthcare system will be presented before a more thorough examination of the role of the public sector in healthcare concludes the exploration of healthcare in Canada as it is relates to economic perspectives. There are many reasons for having a public health care system. Social reasons include the humanitarian aspect, the purpose of encouraging research, and in being a representational model for ethical governance. Economic reasons for providing health care are even more compelling. Although the best reason for providing health care is so that everyone is healthy, an economic basis for doing so is that productivity of the individual rises when they are healthy and illness has been prevented, thus the collective becomes more productive. In addition, public health care creates savings through preventing illness from getting to a point that the costs on the public system are higher and more damaging than they would have been should health care have been provided on its onset. The responsibility of creating a public health care, however, falls on more than just the government. Public health care systems need to be collaborations between business, government, health care organizations and individuals, and the consumers of health care who are the people of the state. In order for the system to work, there must be