Equity in Irish health care financing

Abstract

Equity is a central principle in Irish health policy and there is increasing political interest in altering the health financing structures in order to improve equity in the system. However, investigations of equity in Irish health care financing are out-dated and there are also concerns that available analytic measures are not adequately capturing patterns of inequity that are occurring in practice. The objectives of this thesis were to update and expand on previous analysis of equity in Irish health care financing by compiling more up-to-date data, developing and using alternative analytic methods, and identifying and modelling policy options for improving equity in the system.