Voorhoeve, Alex 
ORCID: 0000-0003-3240-3835
(2018)
May a government mandate more comprehensive health insurance than citizens want for themselves?
In: Sobel, David, Vallentyne, Peter and Wall, Steven, (eds.)
Oxford Studies in Political Philosophy.
Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, pp. 167-191.
ISBN 9780198813989
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Abstract
I critically examine a common liberal egalitarian view about the justification for, and proper content of, mandatory health insurance. This view holds that a mandate is justified because it is the best way to ensure that those in poor health gain health insurance on equitable terms. It also holds that a government should mandate what a representative prudent individual would purchase for themselves if they were placed in fair conditions of choice. I argue that this common justification for a mandate is incomplete. A further reason for mandated insurance is that it helps secure social egalitarian public goods that would be underprovided if insurance were optional. I also argue that rather than mandating what a representative individual would choose for themselves, we should design the mandatory package by appealing to a pluralistic egalitarian view, which cares about improving people’s well-being, reducing unfair inequality, and maintaining egalitarian social relations.
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| Official URL: | https://global.oup.com |
| Additional Information: | © 2018 The Author |
| Divisions: | Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) J Political Science > JC Political theory R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine |
| Date Deposited: | 06 Feb 2017 14:31 |
| Last Modified: | 19 Feb 2025 21:31 |
| URI: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/69194 |
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