Definition
Healthcare systems vary across countries, but the access to health is considered fundamental both individually and collectively. Individually, good health is one of the main contributors to well-being, and collectively it has an important effect on countries’ productivity. From a utilitarian perspective, governmental intervention in health coverage has the purpose to maximize the total “utility,” in this case the total welfare, of all the members of society. Health services must therefore be produced and allocated efficiently and distributed in accordance to equity. This approach gave origin to the so-called “universal” healthcare systems, in trying to provide healthcare for as many members of a community as possible. Such systems can be considered inclusive insofar they try not to leave anyone out of coverage, but their implementation is not free of criticism. One of the limitations is that they tend to provide the same level of coverage for everyone, regardless of their...
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Fernandez, R.M. (2019). From a Utilitarian Universal Health Coverage to an Inclusive Health Coverage. In: Leal Filho, W., Wall, T., Azeiteiro, U., Azul, A., Brandli, L., Özuyar, P. (eds) Good Health and Well-Being. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69627-0_61-1
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