Strategies to contain the high and rising costs of health: Will they increase existing health care disparities and are they ethical?

Purpose – After discussing the high and rising health care costs in the USA, its disparities, and the suggested demand, supply, and managed competitionside strategies to contain health care costs and their ethical implications, this paper seeks to explore whether or not these strategies will further aggravate the existing health care disparities. Design/methodology/approach – This conceptual paper utilizes various appropriate exiting economic and ethical theories. The economic and ethical theories utilized are relevant to the problem of rising health care costs; to the proposed demand, supply, and managed competitionside cost containment strategies; and to the existing health care disparities. Findings – This paper demonstrates that the suggested cost containment strategies do in fact aggravate existing health care inequities and are not always ethical. Originality/value – Given the present health care reform debate in the USA and various misconceptions about it, the author believes that the paper and its findings should in fact be viewed as a contribution.