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...

This book provides key economic facts, explains the economic concepts needed to examine the implications of these facts, and summarizes the results of empirical studies regarding our healthcare system's access, cost, and quality problems as well as identifying six key trends that are reforming...

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 :...