Ethics in American Health 2: An Ethical Framework for Health System Reform

American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 98, No. 10, pp. 1756-1763, 2008

8 Pages Posted: 8 Nov 2008

See all articles by Jennifer Prah Ruger

Jennifer Prah Ruger

University of Pennsylvania - School of Social Policy & Practice; University of Pennsylvania - Perelman School of Medicine

Date Written: October 2008

Abstract

I trace the evolution of ethical approaches to health policy in the United States and examine a number of critical unresolved issues pertaining to the current set of frameworks. Several themes emerge. First, fair procedures claim more attention than substantive and procedural principles. Second, in the case of public deliberation, more focus has been placed on factors such as procedural mechanisms than on understanding how individuals and groups value different aspects of health and agree on health-related decisions. Third, the nation needs workable frameworks to guide collective choices about valuable social ends and their trade-offs; purely procedural strategies are limited in illuminating overarching health policy and ethics questions. There is a need to integrate consequential and procedural approaches to health ethics and policy.

Keywords: Health policy, health reform, ethics

JEL Classification: I10, I18

Suggested Citation

Prah Ruger, Jennifer, Ethics in American Health 2: An Ethical Framework for Health System Reform (October 2008). American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 98, No. 10, pp. 1756-1763, 2008, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1296106 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1296106

Jennifer Prah Ruger (Contact Author)

University of Pennsylvania - School of Social Policy & Practice ( email )

3701 Locust Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6214
United States

University of Pennsylvania - Perelman School of Medicine

423 Guardian Drive
Philadelphia, PA 19104
United States

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