HEALTH CARE

 
Health-care systems are struggling to balance the demands of inclusiveness, aging populations and rising costs. Reforms are underway across the OECD, triggering often-rancorous political debate but as yet having sporadic success with cost containment.

Goals are nevertheless clear: Public health care policies should aim at providing high-quality health care for the largest possible share of the population, at the lowest possible costs. Of the three criteria – quality, inclusiveness and cost efficiency – efficiency should be given less weight if the first two criteria can be considered fulfilled.

In most countries today, there is a combination of public and private health care systems. Preventative care is increasingly vital as populations age and advances in medical technology translate into higher costs.