American Health Economy Illustrated

Christopher J. Conover

• Publisher: AEI Press
• Year: 2012
• eBook ISBN:
  9780844772035
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Health Care Delivery

How much does the average American spend on health care? Are costs and quality of health care equal across US states? Do Americans get good value for money spent on health services compared with citizens of other developed nations? Are current health spending trends sustainable through the 21st century? All too often, policymakers and the public alike form judgments about health care based on myths and misconceptions. A common refrain is that US health care is too expensive — both in costs to the taxpayer and costs to the consumer. But few realize that despite its lack of national health insurance, the United States leads nearly all other industrialized nations in the share of health spending paid by third parties, whether public or private. Americans, therefore, are less sensitive to health care prices than citizens of other nations. American Health Economy Illustrated sifts through nearly a century of data to examine — and debunk — the most common myths about the US health care system. With an unbiased, just-the-facts approach and hundreds of color illustrations, Christopher J. Conover assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the current system and evaluates whether current health cost trends are sustainable. Wide-ranging, accessible, and provocative, this book is a must-read for anyone concerned with the future of American health care.

Table of contents

• Acknowledgments
• Foreword
• Preface
• CHAPTER 1 Rise of a Massive Health Sector
• CHAPTER 2 How Is Each Health Dollar Spent?
• CHAPTER 3 Who Pays for Health Services?
• CHAPTER 4 The Employer Role in U.S. Health Care
• CHAPTER 5 Government Health Expenditures, Taxes, and Deficits
• CHAPTER 6 Health Services and the Family Budget
• CHAPTER 7 Who Produces Health Services?
• CHAPTER 8 Health Services and the Distribution of National Income
• CHAPTER 9 Productivity in the Health Sector
• CHAPTER 10 The Labor Force and Employment in the Health Sector
• CHAPTER 11 Personal Incomes and Health Care
• CHAPTER 12 Distribution of Health Services
• CHAPTER 13 Poverty and Health
• CHAPTER 14 The Structure of the Health Sector
• CHAPTER 15 Health, Wealth, and Debt
• CHAPTER 16 Economic Fluctuations and Health
• CHAPTER 17 Health Services and Quality of Life
• CHAPTER 18 U.S. Health Care in a Global Economy
• CHAPTER 19 Do Americans Get Good Value for Money in Health Care?
• CHAPTER 20 Are Health Spending Trends Sustainable?
• Glossary
• References
• Sources
• About the Author