Description: This book addresses probing questions by translating the general moral concept of fairness into specific criteria for measuring the fairness of proposals for health reform. The authors demonstrate how concerned members of the public and policy makers can apply their benchmarks by actually scoring four major proposals for health care reform exemplifying the most prevalent ideas of the 1990s. They pay particular attention to the moral foundation of reforms based on competition. Although some reform ideas fare better than others, all are found weak in establishing open, democratic procedures for deciding the limits of care. The book also appraises the changes caused by the rapid growth of managed care systems since the collapse of national reform. Written by a leading moral philosopher of health care, an internationally known sociologist, and a health economist, Benchmarks of Fairness should be read by citizens, physicians, nurses, employers, and politicians.
Review Quotes: "Though dormant, the national health care debate is far from over. We still lack, however, good standards and guidelines for the organization of a decent health care system in the United States. This book makes an enormous contribution toward that critically important goal, setting out standards of fairness, providing us with guidelines to find the right direction here, and giving us the ingredients necessary for a far better debate the next time."--Daniel Callahan, President, The Hastings Center
"This book delivers marvelously what it promises--a serious discussion of issues of fairness. It does so with an ingenious combination of both a retrospective evaluation of four 1993-94 proposals for reform and a contemporary appraisal of trends in progress and the prospects for greater fairness in the financing, accessibility, and quality of American medical care policy."--Theodore R. Marmor, Professor of Politics and of Public Policy and Management, Yale University School of Management"The most fundamental fraud and abuse in health care is the notion that market forces can control health-care costs without altering the distributional ethic governing our health system. This book reminds us not to lose sight of this important dimension of quality care." --Uwe E. Reinhardt, James Madison Professor of Political Economy and Professor of Economics, Princeton University"For too long, health reform has lacked a moral compass. Daniels, Light and Caplan have now provided one. Benchmarks of Fairness provides an exceedingly valuable framework for understanding and evaluating what has been proposed in the name of health reform in the United States. More importantly it stands as a singularly useful tool for formulating and debating new ideas about what to do with a system of care that manifestly requires repair but about which Americans have not achieved the moral consensus requisite for action."--Arthur L. Caplan, Center for Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania"A stimulating and provoctive work that shifts our focus to the collective social values at stake in an evolving health system....It's sobering message is that the gap between what we value and what we have will likely increase until we recognize what is at stake."--Doody's Health Sciences Book Review"