Moral hazard. 2009

David W Chambers

Civil societies set aside a common pool of resources to help those with whom chance has dealt harshly. Frequently we allow access to these common resources when bad luck is assisted by foolishness and lack of foresight. Sometimes we may even help ourselves to a few of those common assets since others are doing so and they are public goods, the cost of which is shared and has already been paid. Moral hazard is the questionable ethical practice of increasing opportunity for individual gain while shifting risk for loss to the group. Bailout is an example. What makes moral hazard so widespread and difficult to manage is that it is easier for individuals to see their advantage than it is for groups to see theirs. Runaway American healthcare costs can be explained in these terms. Cheating, overtreatment, commercialism, and other moral problems in dentistry can be traced to the interaction between opportunistic individual behavior and permissive group responses common in moral hazard.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D003657 Decision Making The process of making a selective intellectual judgment when presented with several complex alternatives consisting of several variables, and usually defining a course of action or an idea. Credit Assignment,Assignment, Credit,Assignments, Credit,Credit Assignments
D004990 Ethics, Dental The principles of proper professional conduct concerning the rights and duties of the dentist, relations with patients and fellow practitioners, as well as actions of the dentist in patient care and interpersonal relations with patient families. (From Stedman, 25th ed) Dental Ethics,Dental Ethic,Ethic, Dental
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D014481 United States A country in NORTH AMERICA between CANADA and MEXICO.
D028662 Principle-Based Ethics An approach to ethics that focuses on theories of the importance of general principles such as respect for autonomy, beneficence/nonmaleficence, and justice. Principlism,Ethic, Principle-Based,Ethics, Principle-Based,Principle Based Ethics,Principle-Based Ethic
D028781 Ethical Relativism The philosophical view that conceptions of truth and moral values are not absolute but are relative to the persons or groups holding them. (from American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed) Relativism, Ethical
D035863 Moral Development The process by which individuals internalize standards of right and wrong conduct. Development, Moral

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