Review by Choice Review
The foreword by Senator J.D. Rockefeller IV emphasizes the need for health care reform in the US and the value of understanding other health care systems as the US searches for appropriate reforms. Graig provides an excellent analysis of health care systems of Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, Britain, and the US. Her use of Anderson's "health services continuum" assists the reader in examining the relationships among political, economic, and cultural factors that shape health care systems, along with the public and private mix in the organization, delivery, and financing of health care. She defines the vested interests in the US health care economy of hospitals, doctors, and insurance companies and compares how these interests fare in the health care structures of the five other countries. Graig provides a brief overview of each health care system, its evolution, its adminstrative and financing mechanisms, and the services provided while keeping cost, quality, and access concerns in the forefront. The final chapter offers a brief review of President Clinton's current proposal for reform, the need for increased regulation of the US system, and the importance of gaining public support for major reform with agreement on the problems to be addressed. Extensive references. All levels. J. E. Thompson University of Pennsylvania
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
