Canada Health Care System

In many countries of the world, including Canada, arguments are made for a private-public mix in the financing and provision of health services. Proponents claim that such a mix would improve both access and quality of health care. Opponents counter that it would create a two-tiered system, narrowing the range of options available to the lower socioeconomic segments of society and ultimately harming the equitable delivery of quality health care. This book presents empirical evidence on this contentious and highly politicized issue. Uniquely, it integrates qualitative and quantitative analyses of health care reforms at various stages of implementation in three countries of Latin America. The book sheds light on important issues pertaining to accessibility and equity and, in its approach, sets precedents and provides guidelines for further comparative work on health care reform. "Reshaping Health Care" in Latin America will appeal to academics, scholars, researchers, and students in health sciences, policy studies, Latin American studies, and international development. It will also be of interest to health practitioners, policymakers, and all citizens who follow the continuing international debate on the private-public mix in our health care systems.

This book offers an overview of health care systems in advanced industrial nations and its relation to current challenges from the USA. Part One offers guidelines for comparing health care reforms. Parts Two to Five examine health care and attempts at health care reform in Germany, Canada, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Part Six considers the impact on reform of structural differences in health care systems, and how national reform measures might be reflected in regional and state programs in the United States.