His abdomen is slightly tender and full, with borborygmi. His stool is hard and heme negative. Fairness to others, or justice, is the moral basis for managed care. Aiming to improve the health of the population is what makes managed care morally defensible. No one patient is more important or worthy than any other.
All patients deserve equitable care.
Population-based health care means care to each according to his or her need and the needs of others. These pictures are all different. The true medical and ethical focus of managed care is to improve the health status of a population at risk in a cost-effective manner. The most important ethical principle in managed care should be fairness. As Emily Friedman has written, fairness has been left up to markets in managed care, and fairness does not matter a lot to markets.