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Essay On Market Failure In Healthcare

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There are several market failures within the health care industry. To be more specific, the vaccination industry accurately demonstrates one example of market failures within the United States. Vaccinations have been around for hundreds of years, helping prevent and stop outbreaks of life-threatening diseases. They have been the key to eradicating illnesses such as smallpox and helping prevent the common flu. Vaccinations are very common for children, from the start as infants to children getting ready to enter their first year at school. They can also be utilized by adults, like the flu vaccine, HPV, or Hepatitis A and B. However, vaccinations can be considered a market failure due to its externalities. Vaccinations are common precautions that are taken by many men and women around the world. By receiving a vaccine, they are not only helping themselves by reducing the risk for diseases and illnesses but also reducing the risk of infections for those around them. This is described as a positive externality where this particular market failure fails, “to include the willingness to pay of the third parties who receive the external benefits caused by the externality (McConnell).” Because the consumer …show more content…

One strategy they have taken is to use government provisions. Because the benefit to society was very large, providing free vaccines to all was one way the government helped with the spillover benefits of positive externalities. In order to eradicate the polio virus, the government provided free vaccines to the public (McConnell). Due to the help of this government provision, the United States has been able to eradicate the polio virus within its borders. The Pan American Health Organization was able to declare the Americas free of the polio virus in August of 1994, after the last case of the virus was reported in 1991 (“History of

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