Debates On U S Health Care

This issues-based reference work (available in both print and electronic formats) shines a spotlight on health care policy and practice in the United States. Impassioned debates about the best solutions to health care in America have perennially erupted among politicians, scholars of public policy, medical professionals, and the general public. The fight over the Health Care Reform Act of 2010 brought to light a multitude of fears, challenges, obstacles, and passions that often had the effect of complicating rather than clarifying the debate. The discourse has never been more heated. The complex issues that animate the health care debate have forced the American public to grapple with the exigencies of the present system with regard to economic, fiscal, and monetary policy, especially as they relate to philosophical, often ideologically driven approaches to the problem. Americans have also had to examine their ideas about the relationship of the individual to and interaction with the state and the varied social and cultural beliefs about what an American solution to the problem of health care looks like. In light of the need to keep students, researchers, and other interested readers informed and up-to-date on the issues surrounding health care in the U.S., this volume uses introductory essays followed by point/counterpoint articles to explore prominent and perennially important debates, providing readers with views on multiple sides of this complex issue. Features & Benefits: The volume is divided into three sections, each with its own Section Editor: Quality of Care Debates (Dr. Jennie Kronenfeld), Economic & Fiscal Debates (Dr. Mark Zezza), and Political, Philosophical, & Legal Debates (Prof. Wendy Parmet). Sections open with a Preface by the Section Editor to introduce the broad theme at hand and provide historical underpinnings. Each Section holds 12 chapters addressing varied aspects of the broad theme of the section. Chapters open with an objective, lead-in piece (or "headnote") followed by a point article and a counterpoint article. All pieces (headnote, point article, counterpoint article) are signed. For each chapter, students are referred to further readings, data sources, and other resources as a jumping-off spot for further research and more in-depth exploration. Finally, the volume concludes with a comprehensive index, and the electronic version of the book includes search-and-browse features, as well as the ability to link to further readings cited within chapters should they be available to the library in electronic format.

Contemporary Issues in the U.S. Healthcare Debate discuss the nature of the U.S. healthcare system. It centers on the driving cost and skyrocketing of the U.S. market-based healthcare system as opposed to the National Health System in the United Kingdom, for example, and the Canadian health system. The book presents an alternative view of the healthcare debate in Washington while, at the same time, addressing the underlying cost of healthcare. The book argues that the U.S healthcare system has been politicized, which has exerted pressure on taxpayers to keep investing in a system that is not providing desirable results in patient care. It is found in the book that the U.S. spend more by far than any other industrialized nation on the face of the planet and yet perform terribly on health indicators like life expectancy and infant and maternal mortality. The book argued the rising cost of medical schools, high physicians pay rate, and barriers to adopt a healthcare system that could benefit every resident in the United States.

With the debate over health care consuming the nation, this timely book looks at the evolution of healthcare policy in the United States throughout its history. Concise, authoritative, and unbiased, The Healthcare Debate provides meaningful context for thinking about one of the most controversial public policy issues the United States faces. It traces the evolution of the argument over the government's role in healthcare financing and delivery since the early 1800s, with an emphasis on the major reform efforts since the mid-20th century. Following the complex dynamics of public health policy across U.S. history, The Healthcare Debate brings together a wide range of voices on the subject--presidents, policymakers, reformers, lobbyists, and everyday citizens. Each of its eight chronologically organized chapters focuses on the battle over government involvement in healthcare in a specific era, drawing on historic documents and the latest retrospective research. With President Obama making healthcare reform his top domestic priority in his first year in office, this remarkable new book could not be more timely.

The debate over health care policy in the U. S. did not end when President Obama signed the landmark Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) on March 23, 2010. Since then, half the states have sued and federal judges have issued conflicting rulings about the law's constitutionality. In addition, the new Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted to repeal it, and Republicans have pledged to bring it up again during negotiations over the 2012 federal budget. The continuing controversies over PPACA are only one reason that Still Broken: Understanding the U.S. Health Care System is a must-read for engaged citizens, policymakers, students, and scholars alike. The book takes a close look at our problems, proposes solutions to them, and explains how to navigate our political system to effect positive change. It will help readers: * Assess the arguments made by partisans on both sides of the continuing debate. * Understand why President Obama was able to get Congress to pass a comprehensive reform bill even though most of his predecessors tried and failed. * Understand why so many Americans are either confused about its value or actually oppose it. In the book's first part, Stephen M. Davidson paints a lucid picture of the way that the health system works and the forces that produced the monumental problems that we face today. Then, he makes a compelling case for overhauling our system, offering six elements for inclusion in any plan for change. Davidson devotes the last three chapters to a detailed examination of the politics of reform. This assessment will help readers to appreciate both the political achievement represented by passage of the new law and the reasons that opposition to the law remains so widespread, despite all the good it does for the public. Whatever compromises, if any, are accepted by negotiators in the end, the book makes clear why, to fully solve the system's problems, the underlying goal must be to change incentives for all players who participate in the system and, finally, why this goal cannot be achieved by relying solely on market-based solutions. Davidson's captivating and persuasive book demonstrates that only a solution with a large public-sector role can lead us to real reform.

"[This book is] the most authoritative assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of recent trends toward the commercialization of health care," says Robert Pear of The New York Times. This major study by the Institute of Medicine examines virtually all aspects of for-profit health care in the United States, including the quality and availability of health care, the cost of medical care, access to financial capital, implications for education and research, and the fiduciary role of the physician. In addition to the report, the book contains 15 papers by experts in the field of for-profit health care covering a broad range of topicsâ€"from trends in the growth of major investor-owned hospital companies to the ethical issues in for-profit health care. "The report makes a lasting contribution to the health policy literature." â€"Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law.

“This is an accessible text that will be a useful source for lecturers and students in the field of health studies. The material is coherently organised into three main themes: the politics of provision; setting priorities; and patients and professionals. I was particularly impressed with way in which the authors draw on theoretical insights and on the experiences of different heath care systems in their analysis.” Professor Rob Baggott, Director of the Health Policy Research Unit, De Montfort University, UK Who is responsible for the health of the nation? To what extent should the state tackle health inequalities? Is prevention better than cure?, Key Debates in Healthcare explores the answers to these and many more topical questions in healthcare. The book considers eight main debates in healthcare, ranging from the role of the state in the provision of health care to the rights of patients, and the responsibilities each of us have for our own health. The book also examines the different models of health and healthcare delivery, and explores alternative methods of providing healthcare, using the state, the private sector or the voluntary sector. Through these debates the book will help readers explore issues such as health inequalities, health promotion and service delivery, and establish their own perspective on issues of health and society. Written as a core course book, the book includes: Theoretical perspectives: to help you understand the logic and implications of broad social and political arguments related to health Policy developments: to show the practical application of ideas in Britain, the United States and in other parts of the world Perspectives of health professionals: to illustrate the impact of healthcare debates on professional practice Healthcare scenarios: to assist you to make connections between theory, policy and practice Key Debates in Healthcare is key reading for all those training and studying to become health professionals and looking for a text to help them get to grips with the heart of healthcare provision.

This book is intended be a thought-provoking discussion of real issues in the healthcare debate as seen through the eyes of suffering consumers. "He who feels it, knows it" It is not intended as a substitute for any study generated by specialists in the fields of finance, economics, government, or healthcare related law. It simply documents and discusses challenges in health-related experiences in everyday life of ordinary people, not law makers. It is a "he, who feels it, knows it" life record of experiences of the under-privileged in America. This straightforward read incorporates the health systems of different countries with the purpose of provoking the reader to analyze and compare the healthcare system in the United States of America with that of other countries, some of which are industrialized nations, while others are developing nations; and to challenge the government representatives on the issues. Peter Schoppa of Germany (Chapter 10) states, "Health insurance and nursing insurance are ruled by the principle of legal liability to insure. Immaterial are age, sex, and personal status, state of health or citizenship of the insured." The U.S. is faced with a health crisis that impacts its past and current economical situation. U.S. Census Bureau August 2008 report that: there were 35.920 million uninsured U.S. citizens and 9.737 million uninsured foreign nationals residing within the United States, that is "nearly 46 million" uninsured people in the United States. What is often discussed in the media is rather exciting, loquacious, and thrilling. These discussions and conclusions relate to issues occurring on another planet - NOT this one down here! I believe that the treatment of the healthcare issues as presented in this book will help law makers and the media, make informed decisions about universal healthcare on this planet - Earth!