The Rising Cost of Hospital Care
Auteur : Martin S. Feldstein
Date de publication : 1971
Éditeur : National Center for Health Services Research and Development
Nombre de pages : 88
Résumé du livre
The course of hospital cost inflation from 1950 to 1970 is surveyed and analyzed. It emphasized that a day of hospital care is a product that has been continually changing. The rising cost of hospital care is therefor not comparable to price increases for other goods and services, and should not be interpreted as evidence of inefficiency or a low rate of technical progress. Increasing demand is identified as the primary reason for the unusually rapid rate of cost increase. It is concluded that the current high cost of care does not actually correspond to the basic preferences of consumers, that it imposes a substantial direct and indirect financial burden, and that it may lead to inappropriate changes in the financing and organisation of hospital care.