Improving Health Care Access Essay

Improving health care access is a major goal of governments around the world, and a centrepiece of many reform efforts. The world health organisation defines health as “defines health as a "State of complete physical, psychological, and social wellbeing’ and not just the nonexistence of illness or infirmity" (World Health Organisation, 2016). Research has shown that health (like education) is among the basic capabilities that gives value to human life. Health also makes an important contribution to economic progress of a country as a healthy population lives longer and are more productive (World Health Organisation, 2016). South Africa has one of the most expensive healthcare systems and to make is more affordable to the public, the government

Greater competition has often been proposed as a solution that addresses each element of that challenge. The strongest argument in favour of competition is that it can be designed and deployed to create potent incentives that encourage providers to innovate so that they can deliver higher quality at lower cost. Porter and Teisberg (2006), for example, have noted that in a normal market, competition drives persistent improvements in quality and cost. Rapid innovation leads to rapid diffusion of new technologies and better ways of doing things. Excellent competitors prosper and grow, while weaker rivals are restructured or go out of business. Quality-adjusted prices fall, value improves, and the market expands to meet the needs of more consumers (Porter & Teisberg, 2006). For example, a recent report demonstrated that increased competition among English hospitals drove up the quality of their management practices, and that, in turn, improved their clinical, operational, and financial outcomes. A similar conclusion was reached in another recent paper about English hospitals, which noted that “hospital competition in markets with fixed prices can lead to improvements in clinical quality” (Bloom, Propper, Seller & Reenen,