Document Type

White Paper

Publisher

University of Maine Bureau of Labor Education

Publication Date

Summer 2001

Publisher location

Orono, Maine

Abstract/ Summary

For many years, politicians and insurance companies could blithely proclaim that the U.S. had the best health care system in the world, but as its major shortcomings become more visible, Americans are finding it harder to accept this assertion. The 42.6 million people in the U.S. currently without health insurance are acutely aware that our health care system is not working for everyone, and there is growing recognition that the major problems of rising costs and lack of access constitute a real crisis. However, the search for solutions has not been easy or clear cut. Policymakers often attempt to address the symptoms of our health care crisis through short-term, patchwork solutions, under the pressure of time and the constraints of political decision-making, rather than analyzing the system itself as a whole. One important step in searching for effective longer-term solutions is to ask a deceptively simple two-fold question: how can we know whether a health care system is both "good" - that is, how well it does its job - and fair, in terms of financing health costs? If we can then analyze how well our health system performs, in comparison to other countries in the world, we will have a basis from which to explore possible alternatives.

Version

publisher's version of the published document

Rights and Access Note

This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the rights-holder(s) for non-commercial uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). For more information, contact Special Collections.

Download

Share

 

Rights Statement

In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted