Health Policy Issues: An Economic Perspective, Eighth Edition

Health Policy Issues: An Economic Perspective uses concise, topical chapters to provide a comprehensive overview of the forces influencing healthcare financing and delivery. Concerns over health equity and the rise in healthcare costs are just a few of the timely and vital issues that are discussed through the lens of economics. Each chapter includes a clear explanation of the topic, diagrams, and charts to aid comprehension, and a summary and discussion questions at the end. This eighth edition has been revised to reflect the most recent research and data, as well as changes in laws and government policies. A new chapter compares the US health system to those of five European countries.

New and updated content includes coverage of:

• Current Medicare proposals
• COVID’s effect on medical services delivery
• Medicaid effectiveness
• Strategies for addressing the physician shortage
• Affordable Care Act updates

Health Policy Issues shows how the economic approach to healthcare policy is important not only for understanding the structural and dynamic forces pressing for change in healthcare but also for explaining why the health system has evolved to its current state.

Paul J. Feldstein, PhD, has been a professor and the Robert Gumbiner Chair in Health Care Management at the Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine, since 1987. Previously he was at the University of Michigan as a professor in both the Department of Economics and the School of Public Health. During his leaves from the university, Professor Feldstein worked at the Office of Management and Budget, the Social Security Administration, and the World Health Organization. Professor Feldstein has written eight books and more than 70 articles on healthcare. Glenn Melnick, PhD, is a professor, the Blue Cross of California Chair in Health Care Finance, and the director of the Center for Health Policy and Management at the University of Southern California School of Policy, Planning, and Development. He is also a Senior Economist and Resident Consultant with RAND in Santa Monica. Previously, he served as a faculty member at the University of California—Los Angeles School of Public Health. Professor Melnick has been published in several publications, including the American Journal of Public Health, Health Affairs, and Medical Care.