Hospitals and profit

[Diuretic]

Should all hospitals be required to be run on a for-profit basis?

Should some hospitals be allowed to run on a for-profit basis?

Should all hospitals be required to run on a cost-recovery basis only?

Should some hospitals be required to run on a cost-recovery basis and some be permitted to run on a for-profit basis?

 

[JBeukema]

The first priority in the medical field should always be the alleviation of suffering and preservation of life and well-being.

All other matters, including financial considerations are secondary and must be weighed against this primary concern.

That is to say that the least expensive path that will serve this primary priority is the path that should be taken.

The question is tis: How do you weight the good of the individual (individual care) against the good of the majority (cost effectiveness, limiting care for patients in order to ensure others can be tended to, etc)?

Once again, it all boils down to individualism versus collectivism and how the two are to balance.
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