The Economics of a Two Tier Health System: A Fairer Medicare?

Abstract

This paper analyses a recent proposal of the Australian Government to reform the existing Medicare system. It develops models of the physician’s behaviour and of a household’s demand for medical insurance under the proposed system, and then proceeds to characterise the equilibrium under the new proposals. It argues that those most likely to be made worse off are low income households with children, though a full evaluation of the effects of the proposal requires it to be analysed in a public finance framework.health care, government policy, medical insurance