The equity principle in the allocation of health care expenditure on primary health care services in Portugal: The human capital approach

Abstract

This article examines the equity principle as it could be applied to the financing of primary health care resources in Portugal. Three resource allocation criteria are considered: namely, the demand/utilization criterion; the health situation criterion; and, the coverage by health services criterion. With data based on health service expenditure, district by district, for 1983, the article shows that quite different results would emerge from the selection of one criterion rather than another. In particular, a policy of positive discrimination would reallocate resources towards the north rather than the south of Portugal, though differences would emerge between districts and between specific activities provided within the framework of primary health care. The results are presented and conclusions drawn.