Locating the role of altering nature of public healthcare as a 'commodity' in a market society

Abstract

The article intends to critique and problematise the historical evolution and contemporary understanding of markets and contextualises its evolving role in public goods. The COVID-19 pandemic, just as the global financial crisis of 2008 has called for an intensive appraisal of how and what went wrong. In the stated context, the article intends to explore the nature, theoretical understanding and evolving role of markets in public healthcare systems, briefly taking South Asia as a case study. Contrary to what has been a trend across the countries in privatising healthcare premised on the efficiency of markets in allocating resources, the article problematises healthcare as a commodity subject to a competitive marketplace. The increasing privatisation of the healthcare sector in South Asia has increased inaccessibility in availing healthcare services.