Health Policy Issues: An Economic Perspective

by Feldstein, Paul J.

• ISBN13: 9781567932010
• ISBN10: 1567932010
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-01-01
• Publisher: HEALTH ADMINISTRATION PRESS/ACHE

Summary

Like its predecessors, the third edition of Health Policy Issues: An Economic Perspective will help readers understand the issues underlying the politics and economics of health services. This policy primer uses an economic approach to explain the forces pressing for change in healthcare, as well as why the health system has evolved to its current state.

Author Biography

Paul J. Feldstein has been a professor and Robert Gumbiner Chair in Health Care Management at the Graduate School of Management, University of California, Irvine since 1987. Professor Feldstein has written six books and more than 60 articles on health care.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	ix
List of Tables	xv
Preface	xvii
The Rise in Medical Expenditures	1	(12)
How Much Should We Spend on Medical Care?	13	(12)
Do More Medical Expenditures Produce Better Health?	25	(12)
In Whose Interest Does the Physician Act?	37	(10)
Rationing Medical Services	47	(10)
How Much Health Insurance Should Everyone Have?	57	(10)
Why Are Those Who Most Need Health Insurance Least Able to Buy It?	67	(12)
Medicare	79	(18)
Medicaid	97	(12)
How Does Medicare Pay Physicians?	109	(12)
Does a Physician Surplus Exist?	121	(16)
The Changing Practice of Medicine	137	(12)
The Malpractice Crisis	149	(14)
Do Nonprofit Hospitals Behave Differently than For-profit Hospitals?	163	(12)
Competition Among Hospitals: Does It Raise or Lower Costs?	175	(12)
Cost Shifting	187	(12)
Can Price Controls Limit Medical Expenditure Increases?	199	(10)
Managed Care Competition	209	(18)
How Will the Internet Change Health Care?	227	(16)
American Competitiveness and Rising Health Costs	243	(10)
Why Is Getting into Medical School So Difficult?	253	(10)
The Shortage of Nurses	263	(14)
The High Price of Prescription Drugs	277	(18)
Ensuring Safety and Efficacy of New Drugs: Too Much of a Good Thing?	295	(18)
Why Are Prescription Drugs Less Expensive Overseas?	313	(14)
How Should a Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Be Designed?	327	(18)
Should Kidneys and Other Organs Be Bought and Sold?	345	(10)
The Role of Government in Medical Care	355	(12)
Medical Research, Medical Education, Alcohol Consumption, and Pollution: Who Should Pay?	367	(10)
The Canadian Health Care System	377	(16)
Employer-mandated National Health Insurance	393	(12)
National Health Insurance: Which Approach and Why?	405	(12)
Financing Long-term Care	417	(14)
The Politics of Health Care Reform	431	(12)
Appendix: Discussion Questions	443	(14)
Glossary	457	(12)
Index	469	(14)
About the Author	483