QUASI-MARKETIZATION AND SECURITY IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS: THE CASE OF THE NORTH-WESTERN REGION OF ROMANIA
QUASI-MARKETIZATION AND SECURITY IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS: THE CASE OF THE NORTH-WESTERN REGION OF ROMANIA

Summary/Abstract: The unequal distribution of risks can be seen as a social division per se, which fuels further inequalities. The engagement to limit the amount of insecurity faced by individuals is embedded in the very notions of social citizenship (Mashall, 1950) and welfare state (Briggs, 1961), being particularly salient in the case of public health care systems. State retrenchment from the role of service provision and the introduction of market forces in the functioning of public services had specific consequences on the quality of the “safety belt” provided by the public health care systems. Looking at the particular case of the Romanian public health care system, this paper investigates the socioeconomic structural factors which lead to inequalities in the insured-status, presenting some of the findings of the research project ECHISERV 2007: Disparities in the Use of Public Health Care Services in the North-West Development Region of Romania1. Three dimensions of (in)security in the public health care system are investigated: coverage (having or not health insurance), knowledge about rights and duties, and trust in the system. The results are discussed in the light of Sen’s concept of “protective security” and its congruencies with the critiques of quasi-marketization of health care services.

• Details
• Contents