Rights -- Equality -- Needs -- Outcomes -- Technology -- Quality -- Costs -- Efficiency -- Unnecessary care -- Administrative costs -- Priorities -- Prevention -- Managed care -- International competitiveness -- The elderly -- Minorities -- Rural areas -- Prescription drugs -- Public opinion --...

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...