Principles of Justice Regarding the Allocation of Public Resources to Health Policies

The present paper discusses two of the most relevant principles of the paradigm of Justice within the debate regarding the allocation of public resources to health policies: the principles of equality and equity. It emphasizes the need for transparency concerning public policies, since allocative decisions in representative democracies are not taken directly by the population. Such transparency depends on expliciting the paradigms of Justice which underlie the formulation of such policies. This study shows that equality and equity are, respectively, the basis for an "all-inclusive-benefits-package" as well as for the focusing of social policies. It also explicits some implications of adopting such strategies, both in the general as in the public goods case. Under an epidemiological perspective, the study concludes that the welfare of population can be achieved either by focusing or through an "all-inclusive-benefits-package"