Health care reform is always about more than morality and values, but if it lacks a moral foundation, it will not stand the test of time. Dr. Olson provides a moral foundation expressed in eight standards derived from his study of ethics, systems theory, and health policy research. From these normative standards he derives a vision of universal health care as both a public policy of protecting and promoting the health of an entire population, and a system for organizing, fi nancing, and delivering high quality care, which is affordable and accessible to everyone based on their need. Universal health care is fi nanced fairly to ensure sustainability through shared responsibility with personal choice of health care providers and/or health care plans. This unifying vision for health care reform is pluralistic with respect to the design of systems to implement it. The author provides several moral arguments from divergent ethical theories, which converge to support his vision of universal health care and its specifi c elements. In the process, he illustrates how to reason to moral conclusions based on clear thinking about both values and relevant facts. He also shows why and how ethical discourse is both relevant and necessary to the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of health care policy. Discussion of the controversy over medically necessary care and an ethical analysis of the Affordable Care Act are unique features of this book.

Millions of Americans lack health insurance, and as a result, thousands suffer and die every year. Philosophers have argued that an ideal society would avoid these problems by guaranteeing universal access to health insurance, but what about concerns that a universal health insurance system would be inefficient, create excessive fiscal risk, or impose excessive taxes or other personal costs? In The Ethics of Universal Health Insurance, Alex Rajczi shows how defenders of universal health insurance can address the ethical issues raised by these objections and make the moral case for an American universal health insurance system that improves on the gains made in the Affordable Care Act. Engaging with these objections helps us uncover fascinating philosophical issues that have been previously overlooked. It also leads us to a deeper understanding of progressive and conservative views on distributive justice and provides us with a framework for examining debates about any part of the social safety net- in America and elsewhere.

"[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.

Part I: The organization and function of the American Health Care System. Why health and health care matter -- How America's health system works -- How we pay for health care -- The polities of health care -- Part II: Problems and challenges facing the American Health Care System. A holistic vision of health care costs -- Unwarranted costs of the present health care system -- Too much costly health care -- Universal health care around the world: how other countries do it -- Part III: The case for universal health care. The plan: universal health care for the United STates -- Improving quality & containing costs -- The ethical & moral case for universal health care -- The economic case for universal health care -- Implementing the plan: Why it's in our best interests.

Uwe Reinhardt was a towering figure and moral conscience of health care policy in the United States and beyond. Famously bipartisan, he advised presidents and Congress on health reform and originated central features of the Affordable Care Act. In Priced Out, Reinhardt offers an engaging and enlightening account of today's U.S. health care system, explaining why it costs so much more and delivers so much less than the systems of every other advanced country, why this situation is morally indefensible, and how we might improve it.

Vaccinate children against deadly pneumococcal disease, or pay for cardiac patients to undergo lifesaving surgery? Cover the costs of dialysis for kidney patients, or channel the money toward preventing the conditions that lead to renal failure in the first place? Policymakers dealing with the realities of limited health care budgets face tough decisions like these regularly. And for many individuals, their personal health care choices are equally stark: paying for medical treatment could push them into poverty. Many low- and middle-income countries now aspire to universal health coverage, where governments ensure that all people have access to the quality health services they need without risk of impoverishment. But for universal health coverage to become reality, the health services offered must be consistent with the funds available—and this implies tough everyday choices for policymakers that could be the difference between life and death for those affected by any given condition or disease. The situation is particularly acute in low- and middle income countries where public spending on health is on the rise but still extremely low, and where demand for expanded services is growing rapidly. What’s In, What’s Out: Designing Benefits for Universal Health Coverage argues that the creation of an explicit health benefits plan—a defined list of services that are and are not available—is an essential element in creating a sustainable system of universal health coverage. With contributions from leading health economists and policy experts, the book considers the many dimensions of governance, institutions, methods, political economy, and ethics that are needed to decide what’s in and what’s out in a way that is fair, evidence-based, and sustainable over time.

Health care reform has dominated public discourse over the past several years, and the recent passage of the Affordable Care Act, rather than quell the rhetoric, has sparked even more debate. Donald A. Barr reviews the current structure of the American health care system, describing the historical and political contexts in which it developed and the core policy issues that continue to confront us today. This comprehensive analysis introduces the various organizations and institutions that make the U.S. health care system work—or fail to work, as the case may be. A principal message of the book is the seeming paradox of the quality of health care in this country—on the one hand it is the best medical care system in the world, on the other it is one of the worst among developed countries because of how it is organized. Barr introduces readers to broad cultural issues surrounding health care policy, such as access, affordability, and quality. He discusses specific elements of U.S. health care, including insurance, especially Medicare and Medicaid, the shift to for-profit managed care, the pharmaceutical industry, issues of long-term care, the plight of the uninsured, medical errors, and nursing shortages. The latest edition of this widely adopted text updates the description and discussion of key sectors of America’s health care system in light of the Affordable Care Act.