The Responsibility of Government for Medical and Health Services

摘要

Based on the objectives of ethical value on social cooperation and government management theory, this article puts forward the following views: the responsibility of government for public affairs management is in response to the needs of social management rather than merely sei-ving as a supplement for market failure. The value of its management should be the achievement of social cooperation. Medical services are not public products. However, health is a crucial factor of quality of life and the impairment of it can be partly associated with social management. Therefore, the government should undertake the responsibility of promoting public health by managing medical and health services. The levels of responsibility vary according to the different subjects and characteristics of health affairs. Management of public health affairs and other health related affairs like occupational security is a fundamental task of the government. But for medical market, government is only responsible for cultivation and supervision. Due to the limitations of the social civilization, these responsibilities of the government are certainly limited. Market function should be fully utilized under the public administration theory to increase the efficiency of managing medical and health affairs.