SEVPRI Philosophy of Priority Setting Seminar

Abstract: In practice and the philosophical literature on health priorities, the standard view is to ignore the third-party and non-medical effects when allocating scarce healthcare resources. In this paper, we argue against this exclusionary view and propose an inclusive view instead. We argue that, in principle, every foreseeable effect of a decision should matter when prioritising healthcare resources. Thus, we propose widening the scope of attention from patients qua patients to everyone affected by the allocation of healthcare resources. We defend the inclusive view against objections that it is discriminatory and unfair. Whilst doing so, we shed light on some objections to contractualism, suggesting aggregative theories to be better suited to aid decisions within this sphere.

The paper is co-authored with Aksel Sterri.