BookPaul J. Feldstein, Glenn Melnick.
Summary: "Health Policy Issues, Eighth Edition provides not only information for those unfamiliar with all the aspects of the U.S. healthcare system, but includes a discussion of the major health policies issues and applies basic economic concepts for understanding and resolving them. The economic approach relies on competitive markets and requires no prior knowledge of economics"-- Provided by publisher.
Contents:
The rise of medical expenditures
How much should we spend on medical care?
Do more medical expenditures produce better health?
In whose interest does the physician act?
Rationing medical services
How much health insurance should everyone have?
Why are those who most need health insurance least able to buy it?
Medicare
Medicaid
How does Medicare pay physicians?
The shortage of physicians and emerging solutions
Why is getting into medical school so difficult?
The changing practice of medicine
The economic outlook for registered nurses
Do nonprofit hospitals behave differently than for-profit hospitals?
Competition among hospitals: does it raise or lower costs?
The future role of hospitals
Cost shifting
Can price controls limit medical expenditure increases?
The evolution of managed care
Has competition been tried--and has it failed--to improve the us healthcare system?
Comparative effectiveness research
Who bears the cost of employee health benefits?
The high price of prescription drugs
Ensuring safety and efficacy of new drugs : too much of a good thing?
Why are prescription drugs less expensive overseas?
The pharmaceutical industry : a public policy dilemma
Should kidneys and other organs be bought and sold?
Should profits in healthcare be prohibited?
The role of government in medical care
Health associations and the political marketplace
Medical research, medical education, alcohol consumption, and pollution : who should pay?
The Canadian healthcare system
Employer-mandated national health insurance
National health insurance : which approach and why?
Financing long-term care
The Affordable Care Act : did it achieve its goals?
Comparative health systems.