Almost everyone agrees that primary and preventive
care are critically important areas of health care, and equal
access to these may seem feasible. In these areas, persons
are required to be more responsible for their health: to
eat right, to exercise, and to receive routine care. Consequently, the costs are less. But even these less expensive
health care services are not cost-free. Healthy practices on the part of patients require monitoring. Someone has to
monitor blood pressure, lipid levels, sugar levels etc. Then,
professionals have to interpret the data and provide routine care. Even the less expensive primary and preventa-
tive care costs something. If economic resources are very
scarce, even equal access to these may fail. If secondary
and tertiary care are added to the goods and services, costs
skyrocket. Adding secondary and tertiary care in a system
inevitably expands the disparities and reduces equity.