"Socialized medicine," resource allocation and two-tiered health care--the Danish experience

This paper describes the present resource allocation problems in the Danish tax-based public health care system and presents an analysis of the two policy options put forward as a solution to these problems: (1) explicit rationing of services, and (2) the introduction of two-tiered health care. It is argued that a two-tiered system with a private second tier is unlikely to be acceptable and viable in Denmark, whereas an introduction of a second tier within the public system may be more acceptable. It is further argued that present implicit rationing methods may be unethical and ought to be replaced by explicit rationing.