EU Health Systems and Distributive Justice

EU Health Systems and Distributive Justice uses theories of distributive justice to examine tensions created by the application of the Internal Market rules to the provision of health care services within the European Union. Using the concepts and principles embedded in the theories of egalitarianism and libertarianism, this book analyses the impact of the Internal Market rules on common values and principles shared by European health systems, such as universality, accessibility, equity and solidarity. This analysis is conducted using the specific issue of cross-border health care. This book makes innovative contributions to the study of the relationship between EU health systems and the Internal Market - it encompasses the analysis of all principles recognised by EU institutions as guiding principles of European health systems; it integrates human rights law and practice into the discussion of the EU Court of Justice's approach to patient mobility cases; and it assesses the potential impact of the Internal Market over EU health systems through the lens of distributive justice, looking at the underlying principles of these systems that are mostly concerned with social justice. Ultimately, this is not a book on EU law and health care, but it is a book on distributive justice, health care and the principles and policies guiding European health systems.

Danielle da Costa Leite Borges is an Associate Professor at Fundação Getulio Vargas Law School, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Introduction 1. Ideology in the Field of Health Care: A General Overview 2. National and European Approaches to Social Citizenship and Solidarity 3. The Provision of Health Services at the National Level: Models for the Financing and Delivery of Health Care, and their Guiding Principles 4. The Framework of Health Services Provision at the EU Level 5. Insights from Human Rights Law and Practice 6. The Eurpoean Approach to Health Care and the Development of New Values in the Provision of Health Services Conclusion