Characteristics of health and inability to impose rules οf the free competitive market

The health service market behaves differently from ordinary markets, where efficiency is ensured by competition, consumers have sufficient information, directly pay the costs and producers seek to maximize profits. The specificities in the health field is asymmetric and incomplete information, induced demand, the existence of external economies require state intervention to reduce inequality and optimization of social welfare, so the concept of competition and free market in health sector is impossible to be imposed. The aim of this paper is the presentation of the characteristics of health and its specificities that makes the imposition of rules of free competitive market prohibitive.