With the passage of Act 48 in May 2011, Vermont has become the first U.S. state to enact a law for a universal, publicly financed health care system. The state is on course for implementing a single payer system by 2017. This first breakthrough in the decades-long struggle for universal health...

Health system financing is a critical factor in securing universal health care and achieving equity in access and payment. The human rights framework offers valuable guidance for designing a financing strategy that meets these goals. This article presents a rights-based approach to health care...

Healthcare Systems -- Universal Healthcare Worldwide -- Universal Healthcare in the U.S. : History and Perspectives -- The Current U.S. Health Care System -- What are the Socioeconomic Consequences of Lack of Universal Healthcare in America? -- Does Universal Healthcare Lead to Worse Quality of...

The challenge of health care delivery and health policy -- Organization of care -- Government and health insurance : the policy process -- Comparative health systems -- Population health -- Public health : a transformation for the 21st century -- Health and behavior -- Vulnerable populations :...

Prescription Drugs: Monopolies and Profits -- Hospitals : Profit First -- Physicians -- Health Plans : The Money Middlemen -- European Systems of Health-Care Delivery -- The Affordable Care Act of 2010 and Other Federal Health-Care Laws -- Emergency Departments -- The Medical Implant Device...