slides
Cost-containment in Europe
- Publication date
- Publisher
Abstract
Cost-containment is not in itself a sensible policy objective because any assessment of the appropriateness of health care expenditure in aggregate, as of that on specific programs, requires a balancing of costs and benefits (at the margin). International comparisons of expenditures can, however, provide indications of the likely impact on costs/expenditures of structural features of health care systems. This paper reviews the evidence based upon OECD data for both European countries and a wider set and outlines some current policies in Europe that are directed at controlling health care costs.