The Political Economy of Health and Health Care


Book Description

Provides an international, unifying perspective, based on the 'public choice' tradition, to explain how patient-citizens interact with their country's political institutions to determine health policies and outcomes. This volume will appeal to undergraduate and graduate students studying health economics, health policy and public policy.




Issues in the Political Economy of Health Care


Book Description

Originally published in 1984, this book attempted to fill a gap by providing a broad-ranging structural analysis of the health care sector and the political and economic forces which influence its shape and contents, both in the western world and developing countries. The contributors examine the relationships of capitalism to health care, in terms of its influence on the physical environment, the incidence of social diseases and the prevailing (20th Century) view of what constitutes health itself; and in terms of the consequences of the new medical industrial complex it has created, such as the declining provision of health care for the poor and disadvantaged and the growing power of the pharmaceutical industry.




The Political Economy of Health Care


Book Description

This is a passionate analysis of the historical development, current state and potential future shape of the National Health Service by distinguished doctor and author, Julian Tudor Hart.Drawing on many years of clinical experience, Tudor Hart sets out to explore how the NHS might be reconstituted as a humane service for all (rather than a profitable one for the few) and a civilising influence on society as a whole.His starting point is an attack on the creeping commercialisation of the health service - the privatisation of a growing number of spheres and the application of market economics to procurement, delivery and management. Combining clinical, political and economic arguments, he then proposes his own economic analysis of the NHS, 'derived not from classical theory but from experience of the real health care economy'. The author's aim is to provide 'a big picture' for students, academics, health professionals and NHS users that will inspire them to challenge received wisdoms about how the NHS should develop in the 21st century.




The Political Economy of Universal Healthcare in Africa


Book Description

The global rise in pandemics, most recently COVID-19, and other health challenges, some of which are due to climate change, have imposed significant challenges on the healthcare systems in economies around the world. Thus, this book deals with an issue that is very timely and relevant, not just in Africa but globally. It critically assesses healthcare reforms in Ghana under the Fourth Republic, since 1993. Although it focuses on Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme of 2003, the book instructively goes beyond this program. The book argues that, although Ghana is a bellwether of healthcare reforms in Africa, its healthcare initiatives are still far from the service haven of healthcare as a human right. Themes that animate the book’s argument include the need to translate human rights law, such as the right to health, into practical policies that work for ordinary citizens. Key highlights of the book include an increased accent on health as a human right, emphasis on comparative analysis in healthcare studies, and the formulation of a four-hallmark framework, embedded in economics, law, politics, and human rights, to act as a guide for assessment of healthcare reforms in Africa in particular, and Ghana more specifically. Using Ghana as a case study and analytical window into the world, the book offers a valuable and timely resource for academics, students and policymakers across the disciplines of development and healthcare economics, law, public policy, political science, sociology, and African and Caribbean studies, as well as in various fields in health science.




The Political Economy of Health


Book Description

a Should be of interest to everyone working for a just and caring health system anywhere.a Barbara Ehrenreich"




The Political Economy of Health Care


Book Description

This new edition of this bestselling book argues that patients need to develop as active citizens and co-producers of health. This second edition has been entirely rewritten with two new chapters, and includes new material on resistance to that world-wide process.




Regimes of Inequality


Book Description

Why can't politicians seem to make policies that will reduce social inequality, even when they acknowledge that inequality is harmful?




Unhealthy Times


Book Description

"Health and health care are at the pop of the public agenda, not only in Canada but throughout the world. Canada's most cherished social program -- health care -- is being transformed in many ways, some highly visible and others hidden from public view."--Cover.




The Oxford Handbook of Health Economics


Book Description

The Oxford Handbook of Health Economics provides an accessible and authoritative guide to health economics, intended for scholars and students in the field, as well as those in adjacent disciplines including health policy and clinical medicine. The chapters stress the direct impact of health economics reasoning on policy and practice, offering readers an introduction to the potential reach of the discipline. Contributions come from internationally-recognized leaders in health economics and reflect the worldwide reach of the discipline. Authoritative, but non-technical, the chapters place great emphasis on the connections between theory and policy-making, and develop the contributions of health economics to problems arising in a variety of institutional contexts, from primary care to the operations of health insurers. The volume addresses policy concerns relevant to health systems in both developed and developing countries. It takes a broad perspective, with relevance to systems with single or multi-payer health insurance arrangements, and to those relying predominantly on user charges; contributions are also included that focus both on medical care and on non-medical factors that affect health. Each chapter provides a succinct summary of the current state of economic thinking in a given area, as well as the author's unique perspective on issues that remain open to debate. The volume presents a view of health economics as a vibrant and continually advancing field, highlighting ongoing challenges and pointing to new directions for further progress.




Health Economics


Book Description

This is the most complete text available on the economics of health behavior and health care delivery. Appropriate both for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students of economics, this text provides the key analytical tools required to understand current research. Issues discussed include the "cost explosion" in health care, the power of medical associations, the search for remuneration systems with favorable incentives, and technological change in medicine. Rather than simplifying the issues facing today’s healthcare systems, the book models existing complexities as they are, adapting economics to reflect the views of the average person.