Priority setting in health care: an axiomatic bargaining approach

Area of Science:

• Health economics
• Game theory
• Decision analysis

Background:

• Healthcare budget allocation is complex.
• Existing division rules lack explicit assumptions.
• Understanding consequences of changing patient numbers is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To apply axiomatic bargaining theory to healthcare budget division.
• To explicitly state assumptions of different division rules.
• To characterize consequences of rule changes with varying patient numbers.

Main Methods:

• Axiomatic bargaining theory framework.
• Analysis of different healthcare budget division rules.
• Examination of rule consequences under varying opportunity sets (patient numbers).

Main Results:

• Provides a formal framework for analyzing budget division rules.
• Explicitly identifies underlying assumptions for each rule.
• Characterizes how division rule outcomes change with patient pool size.

Conclusions:

• Axiomatic bargaining theory offers a robust method for healthcare resource allocation.
• Formal analysis enhances transparency and predictability in budget division.
• Understanding the impact of patient numbers is key for equitable resource distribution.