Description
Book SynopsisOur Unsystematic Health Care System presents readers with a comprehensive overview of the U.S. health care delivery system. Significantly revised and updated, the fourth edition explores the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, as it unfoldsâincluding both challenges and successes. Grace Budrys traces how dissatisfied Americans have been with the countryâs health care arrangements and the continuing changes of health care reforms. The fourth edition examines the impact the Affordable Care Act has had on the U.S. health care system since it was enacted in 2010, including efforts to identify the appropriate indicators to gauge the lawâs effects. As in previous editions, the book introduces readers to health insurance arrangements in the United States, including private and public health insurance plans, then compares our health care system to those in other countries, which often have better patient outcomes and lower cost. The fourth edition points out the factors
Trade ReviewThis fourth edition of Our Unsystematic Health Care System maintains the accessibility to undergraduate, interdisciplinary audiences from the previous editions. Grace Budrys explains health care reform in a very understandable way without sacrificing the complexity and continued debate around the implementation of the legislation. New to this edition is a well-balanced assessment of whether health care reform is working. Budrys asks readers to consider what they want reform to accomplish, then lays out the empirical findings related to access, cost containment, and quality, and leaves it for the reader to decide what is ‘working’ and what is left unresolved. -- Lara Foley, University of Tulsa
Our Unsystematic Health Care System provides a comprehensive and critical introduction to the institutions of the US health care system. It is an indispensable resource for advanced students in economics or politics embarking on the study of health and health care (as well as for sociologists, its primary audience). Throughout, Budrys poses thoughtful questions and identifies interesting paradoxes and conflicts in the arena of health care. Budrys's book explains not only where we are but how we got here. -- Michael Ash, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
This fourth edition of Our Unsystematic Health Care System is a concise yet comprehensive review of the health care delivery system in the United States. In it, Budrys presents all of the critical elements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and explains what each means for health care users, providers, and policymakers. This book is a must-read for those who want to understand the current status of the ACA, how health care got to this point, and how it continues to evolve. It provides readers with the facts about the ACA and its political, economic, and social context to make every reader a more informed participant in the discussion on current and future health care in this country. -- Kimberly R. Barber, PhD, director of research, Genesys Regional Medical Center; professor of health sciences, University of Michigan
Table of ContentsList of Acronyms Preface 1. The Health Care System: An Overview 2. Opinions on Health Care Reform 3 Hospitals and Other Health Care Organizations 4. Health Care Occupations 5. Private Health Insurance 6. Public Health Insurance 7. The Health Care Systems in Other Countries 8. Health Care Reform: Is it Working? 9. Provocative Questions and Challenging Exercises Notes
