Balancing the goals of health care provision and financing

A desirable system for providing and financing health care must balance three goals: (1) preventing the deprivation of care because of a patient's inability to pay; (2) avoiding wasteful spending; and (3) allowing care to reflect the different tastes of individual patients. This essay discusses the application of these goals and uses them to consider a reform of the system of health savings accounts (HSAs) that was enacted as part of the 2003 Medicare legislation and, separately, the challenge posed by the very expensive treatments for rare diseases that are becoming more frequently available.