THE COLLECTIVIZATION OF HEALTH-INSURANCE

The question that is dealt with in this article concerns the reasons for collectivisation of health insurance. This is not the same as collectivisation of health care. The theoretical model of Usher, with the assumption that a commodity will be socialized if and only if a majority can be found in favour of socialization, appears relevant for the explanation of the origin and growth of social health insurance. Empirical evidence for the Netherlands, where reforms in the social health insurance are going on and common sense suggests that the taste factor is not very relevant, because preferences do not diverge very much among voters. This makes the income factor dominant. Since a majority will profit from socialization of health insurance, there is a strong tendency for collectivisation.