Introduction to US Health Policy

Expanded and updated, this is a new edition of an essential look at the history, structure, successes, and problems of the US health care system.

The United States spends more on health care than any other country in the world. Yet the health of our society and our access to care are worse than in nearly all our peer countries. In the latest edition of Introduction to US Health Policy, Donald A. Barr reviews the structure of the American health care system and explores the various organizations and institutions that make the US health care system work—or fail to work. The book introduces readers to cultural issues surrounding health care policy—such as access, affordability, and quality—and specific elements of US health care, such as insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid. It scrutinizes the shift to for-profit care while analyzing the pharmaceutical industry, issues surrounding long-term care, the plight of the uninsured, and nursing shortages. This new edition features expanded and updated information on:

• The 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), its role in insuring millions of Americans, and Republican efforts to weaken or repeal it
• COVID-19's widespread impacts on the US health care system, including the expansion of telehealth services
• Differences between Medicaid and Medicare plans and changes to these services in the twenty-first century
• Laws affecting US health care, including the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities Act, the No Surprises Act, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act