The attached text formed the basis for my opening contribution, and also some later remarks, at the discussion that followed the 2008 Clare Distinguished Lecture in Economics and Public Policy, given in Cambridge, England, on 14 May 2008. The lecturer was Professor Mohan Munasinghe, a Vice-Chair...

A common misunderstanding of moral hazard emerges from an inaccurate definition of health-care insurance. What we call health insurance is actually a bundle of two services — insurance for catastrophic care and subsidies for routine care. The insurance portion covers insurable medical events...