Abstract
The good policymakers are creating marketing stimulus to social economy, restaurant and hotel discounts, employment maintenance aids, cultural events, etc., disseminating hope. The bad policymakers want the opposite and restrict family's circumstances and socialization. And finally, COVID-19 is blamed for all inefficiencies in the public health system, even those before the epidemic. This chapter explores why COVID-19 is innocent and not entirely responsible for health inefficiencies. The authors explore the main health concerns, analyzing earlier articles with recent documents before and during COVID-19.
TopSupply
Supply is an essential economic theory that designates the total amount of a particular good or service available to consumers. The quantity that is supplied will be influenced by the price obtainable. More products or services will be available to the consumers at higher prices because suppliers will desire to gain more earnings. Not only on the price level, but there are also other economic dynamics, competing goods, the production technology, the quantity available on the market, cost of labor, and other factors of production.
Public goods, in the purest form, have two main characteristics:
- •
Non-excludability: It means that the goods are available to all citizens, cannot exclude a person based on the price, regardless of whether or not they have contributed financially.
- •
Non-rival: Means that when one person uses a good, it does not prevent others from using it.
Differing on these two characteristics, researchers habitually divide entities into four classes (Moon et al., 2017, p. 196); (i) Private goods (e.g., pills and syringes), (ii) Club goods (e.g., knowledge protected by patent), (iii) Common goods (e.g., universal healthcare), and (iv) Public goods (e.g., public information or pandemic preparedness) (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Source: Moon et al., 2017, p. 196. Key Terms in this Chapter
Excess Mortality: Designates the mortality number from all causes during a crisis, exceeding and beyond the ‘normal’ circumstances.
Co-Payment: Refers to percentage of the total amount for a service paid by a patient, on their own or by his insurance, to the provider of service before receiving the service.
“Free-Riders”: Patients because users can enjoy health privileges without expending effort for paying it or the actual cost of the service.
Case-Mix or Patient Mix: Is a term used for adjusting the nature and intensity of treatments undertaken by a group of patients.
Elasticity in Demand: Shows the relationship between price and quantity demanded and provides a precise calculation of the effect of a change in price on quantity demanded.