Demand and supply of health care: advances and theoretical models

Abstract

This article focuses on the theoretical advances in demand and the supply of care, two main components of the health economics sector. This new discipline is an application of economic models to the health field that remains necessary and complementary to perceive the functioning and regulation of health systems. The theoretical models of health care demand can be distinguished by referring to the two approaches: a cost-based approach that starts with a modeling of consumer behavior in care that has an objective of maximizing its usefulness under budgetary constraints and the capital approach founded by Grossman in 1972 in reference to health and health investment capital. When it comes to the provision of care, there are a multitude of social protection systems, including a classification of health systems. These systems differ from each other according to the sources and methods of financing health spending, which have increased significantly in recent years due to changes in morbidity and the demographic transition that the world has undergone. The theoretical synthesis of demand and supply of care, as well as the financing mechanisms for health services, shows a difference depending on the way in which the provision of care is organized and the type of health coverage. However, the latter component contributes to the development of a nation if it incorporates a universal dimension (universal health coverage).