Looking north for health : what we can learn from Canada's health care system /

This collection of academic essays gathered under the aegis of Families USA, a D.C.-based group that advocates health care reform, provides a detailed account of Canada's national health insurance system and demolishes myths about its perceived inferiority. Allen E. Blakeney, former Saskatchewan premier, describes the political struggles that led to the first public health insurance in the '60s; Canadian health economist Robert G. Evans and Perrin Beatty, the minister of communications and a Tory, each provide an overview of the system and the cultural factors which support it; elsewhere, Rosalie Kane, a University of Minnesota professor of public health, examines the mechanics of long-term care in Canada while Paul Pallan, an administrator in British Columbia, discusses the needs of the elderly. Presenting the Canadian model as a beacon for the U.S., Bennett, media director of Families USA, and Adams, former chief economist to the Canadian Medical Association, argue for a one-tier, classless system that uses tax revenues to deliver ample and humane lifelong care. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

This collection of essays by Canadian and U.S. health professionals, policymakers, economists, reform advocates, and journalists promotes the Canadian model of national healthcare as the direction in which U.S. healthcare reform efforts should go. Regrettably, the book's agenda is showing; the ``con'' side of the debate is almost entirely absent. That caveat aside, this is an informative work, providing valuable political, economic, and historical insight into the Canadian system. It should be in great demand as the Clinton administration tackles this thorny issue. Recommended for public and academic collections.-- Judith Eannarino, Washington, D.C. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.