Commentary ten popular health economic fallacies*

Abstract

Summary: Important decisions about the financing, determining priorities in and provision of health services depend on beliefs about facts and relationships. It is argued in this paper that many popular beliefs are either logically wrong or are not supported by the evidence. Important errors exist in the beliefs about the effects of technology and ageing populations on health care costs, affordability of care, capital resources, financing mechanisms, efficiency and economies of scale, the growth of litigation, priority setting and the importance of getting people back to work. This paper aims to correct some of these fallacies and suggest alternative beliefs that better match the theory or fit the evidence. © 1998, Oxford University Press.