Review Of "Markets And Medicine: The Politics Of Health Care Reform In Britain, Germany, And The United States" By S. Giaimo

Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

5-1-2003

Published In

Choice

Abstract

The focus of this work is health policy reforms motivated by the desire for cost containment in Britain, Germany, and the US. Central to Giaimo's analysis is the role that markets--while interacting with other forces--play in containing costs. The author reviews each country's historical governance structure and then analyzes strategies employed in recent years in an attempt to contain costs, strategies that exhibit varying degrees of reliance on the market. Interestingly, in some instances, these strategies arose, at least in part, not top down from the government but, rather, up from private market interests. Although markets are central to this analysis, Giaimo also incorporates the market's interaction with institutional factors, ranging from political power and governance structures to social values and the structure of the health care sector itself, showing that these factors play a significant role in determining the success or failure of reforms. The book's inclusion of historical experience with evaluation of recent reform efforts makes it a valuable addition to collections on comparative health care policy or the analysis of social policy reform more generally. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections.

Comments

This work is freely available courtesy of Choice Reviews. The review has been reproduced in full in the abstract field.

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