Health Care Politics Policy And Services

Designated a Doody's Core Title! Winner of an AJN Book of the Year Award! Who Has a Right to Health Care? What Is the Government's Role in Providing Accessible Health Care? How Are Corporations, Insurance Companies, and Health Care Providers Affecting the Quality of Health Care? And, Most Importantly, Can We Reform the U.S. Health Care System? We often debate these issues in health care policy or public health courses, yet we do so without the proper knowledge of the underlying structure of the U.S. health care system--or a framework by which it can be judged. Many health care workers entering the system are ill-equipped to address the issues faced in direct health care practice, in part because they have no ability to evaluate it. In this innovative text, Gunnar Almgren provides all the tools necessary to understand and critique a health care policy in dire need of change. First, he describes the historical evolution of U.S. health care, explaining how the early roles of hospitals, doctors, and nurses still influence today's system. He explains the complex financial aspects of health care, including the concerns of all its major stakeholders. He looks at the government's role in regulating and funding health care, and how that role has expanded and contracted through various political administrations. An entire chapter describes the facilities and services available for the elderly--an issue that will continue to rise in importance as America ages. Finally, he examines the many causes of disparities in the U.S. health care system. In addition, Almgren offers a unique social justice analysis as a framework by which the current system--and proposed reforms--can be judged. By analyzing the health care system through various models of social justice, we can begin to understand and address the urgent issues of economic, racial, and geographic disparities that plague our current system. With its clear, thorough, and comprehensive coverage of U.S. health care, this unique text is accessible to all those in public health, nursing, social work, public policy, or public administration. No other book addresses the underlying issues of the U.S. health care system alongside a variety of social justice models that we can use to evaluate, and perhaps eventually, change it.

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Helps readers understand and critically assess the US health care system and policies. With a focus on the prevalence of disparities in health and health care, the book reviews the historical evolution and organisation of the American health care system. -- Worldcat.

Fully updated in this new edition, Health Care Politics and Policy in America combines a historical overview of U.S. health policy and programs with analysis of current trends and reform efforts. The book -- shows how health policy fits into the larger social, economic, political, and ideological environment of the United States; -- identifies the roles played by both public and private, institutional and individual actors in shaping the health care system at all levels; -- considers the trade-offs inherent in various policy choices and their impacts on different social groups; -- takes account of the dynamic impact of technological change on health care capacities, costs, and ethics. This edition includes expanded discussion of equity issues and whether there is a "right" to health care, and a new chapter on the issue of medical liability. The concluding chapter brings the story of health care policy up to the end of the millennium, with particular attention to the managed care revolution and reaction to it. The book equips readers with the basic tools for drawing more informed judgments in the ongoing debate about health care policy in the United States.

Featuring analysis of healthcare issues and first-person stories, Policy & Politics in Nursing and Health Care helps you develop skills in influencing policy in today’s changing health care environment. 145 expert contributors present a wide range of topics in policies and politics, providing a more complete background than can be found in any other policy textbook on the market. Discussions include the latest updates on conflict management, health economics, lobbying, the use of media, and working with communities for change. The revised reprint includes a new appendix with coverage of the new Affordable Care Act. With these insights and strategies, you’ll be prepared to play a leadership role in the four spheres in which nurses are politically active: the workplace, government, professional organizations, and the community. Up-to-date coverage on the Affordable Care Act in an Appendix new to the revised reprint. Comprehensive coverage of healthcare policies and politics provides a broader understanding of nursing leadership and political activism, as well as complex business and financial issues. Expert authors make up a virtual Nursing Who's Who in healthcare policy, sharing information and personal perspectives gained in the crafting of healthcare policy. Taking Action essays include personal accounts of how nurses have participated in politics and what they have accomplished. Winner of several American Journal of Nursing "Book of the Year" awards! A new Appendix on the Affordable Care Act, its implementation as of mid-2013, and the implications for nursing, is included in the revised reprint. 18 new chapters ensure that you have the most up-to-date information on policy and politics. The latest information and perspectives are provided by nursing leaders who influenced health care reform with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.

Drawing on over two decades of experience covering health policy on Capitol Hill, National Public Radio journalist Julie Rovner has written explanations for over 300 key concepts to demystify the world of health care policy in the United States. The third edition of Health Care Policy and Politics A to Z has been completely updated and now includes many new entries. Readers will find updated information on long term health care spending, abortion, Medicaid and Medicare, health insurance and the uninsured, and the State Childrens Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). New entries reflect important changes in recent years and include the Medicare Modernization Act, abstinence education, electronic health records, health savings accounts, Plan B, the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and Project BioShield.

The American health care system is a unique mix of public and private programs that critics argue has produced a two-tier system - one for the rich and the other for the poor - that delivers dramatically unequal care and leaves millions of Americans seriously underinsured or with no coverage at all. This book examines the root causes of the inequalities of the American health care system and discusses various policy alternatives. It systematically documents the demands on and the performance of our health care system for different population groups as defined on the basis of gender (women), age (children), race and ethnicity (African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans), and residence in high poverty areas (rural and inner city locales).For each population, the book documents: historical and demographic profile, data on health status, aspects of inequality including access; quality of care; and endemic, cultural, and lifestyle issues affecting health; policies, laws, and programs relevant to health care; and, indicators of improvement or negative trends.