Double sufficiency.requirements of justice healthcare distribution

Abstract

Billions of people worldwide cannot access the healthcare they need, giving impetus to global and local efforts to improve coverage of healthcare. How this can be done justly remains contested. In this dissertation I seek to make a contribution to current debate. I argue that a satisfactory account of justice requires a distinction between healthcare and social justice principles. Adapting Rawls’ notion of a “veil of ignorance”, I propose a way of thinking about prioritised packages of healthcare corresponding to intrinsic healthcare needs over a lifetime. I conclude that justice requires “Double Sufficiency”, which refers to sufficient access to prioritised packages through a threshold approach. While tragic cases remain unavoidable, this approach expresses equal concern for everyone’s healthcare needs.