Health Insurance and Demand for Medical Care: Theory and Application to Australia

Health care finance has been the focus of attention in health economics and policy studies. Many countries are in the process of overhauling their health systems to expand health insurance coverage and to control rising health care costs. Australia?s example of mixed public-private health insurance finance provides some interesting insights. This book highlights major historical steps which led to the current structure. It proposes a new theoretical model of demand for medical care with health insurance and tests it econometrically. Health economists, postgraduate students, insurance analysts and health policy makers should find various aspects of this book useful in view of the current debate on health care finance.