Despite spending far more on medical care than any other nation and despite having seen a century of unparalleled improvement in population health and longevity, the United States has fallen behind many of its global counterparts and competitors in such health outcomes as overall life expectancy...

Definitions of health and illness -- Public health : defining determinants of health -- Health status indicators -- Role of culture in the organization of health care systems -- Political and philosophical values that influence the US health care system -- Do we have as system? -- People who...

History of the U.S. healthcare system -- Impact of the Affordable Care Act on healthcare services -- Current operations of the healthcare system -- Government's role in U.S. health care -- Public health's role in health care -- Inpatient and outpatient services -- U.S. healthcare workforce --...

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 :...

Overview of the United States Health Care System -- Historical and Benchmark Developments in American Health Care -- Public Policy and the Role of Government -- Financing Health Care -- The Healthcare Workforce -- Hospitals and Integrated Delivery Systems -- Ambulatory Care -- Long-term Care and...

This paper compares health care systems. It looks beyond normal academic, political, or journalistic rhetoric, by exactly sticking to facts, i.e. empirical data (in particular data provided by the WHO) and comprehensive case study analyses. The paper finds that a number of myths and common...