Our Unsystematic Health Care System

The third edition of Our Unsystematic Health Care System presents readers with a comprehensive overview of the U.S. health care delivery system. This edition has been significantly revised to take on the daunting task of explaining the Patient Protection and Health Care Affordability Act as it unfolds. Grace Budrys traces how dissatisfied Americans have been with the country’s health care arrangements and the continuing challenges and changes of health care reform.

As in previous editions, the book introduces readers to health insurance arrangements in the United States, and private and public health insurance plans are now covered in separate chapters. The third edition includes expanded information on health care systems in other countries, new case studies, and a discussion of the factors outside of the health care system that might play a role in explaining why Americans do not enjoy better health and longer life expectancy.