Health Care in Canada: A Citizen's Guide to Policy and Politics

by Katherine Fierlbeck

Overview

Health Care in Canada examines the challenges faced by the Canadian health care system, a subject of much public debate. In this book Katherine Fierlbeck provides an in-depth discussion of how health care decisions are shaped by politics and why there is so much disagreement over how to fix the system.

Many Canadians point to health care as a source of national pride; others are highly critical of the system's shortcomings and call for major reform. Yet meaningful debate cannot occur without an understanding of how the system actually operates. In this overview, Fierlbeck outlines the basic framework of the health care system with reference to specific areas such as administration and governance, public health, human resources, drugs and drug policy, and mental health. She also discusses alternative models in other countries such as Britain, the United States, and France. As health care becomes increasingly complex, it is crucial that Canadians have a solid grasp of the main issues within both the policy and political environments. With its balanced and accessible assessment of the main political and theoretical debates, Health Care in Canada is an essential guide for anyone with a stake in Canada's health system.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442609839
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	04/09/2011
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 5.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Katherine Fierlbeck is the McCulloch Professor of Political Science at Dalhousie University, with a cross-appointment as professor of Community Health and Epidemiology.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Abbreviations xv

1 Funding Health Care 3

2 Intergovernmental Relations 44

3 Health Care Administration and Governance 62

4 Health Care and the Courts 88

5 Public Health and Population Health 104

6 Health Human Resources 132

7 Drugs and Drug Policy 151

8 Mental Health 196

9 Beveridge Systems: Britain, Sweden, and the Internal Market 219

10 Bismarck Systems: France, Germany and the Social Insurance Model 242

11 Mandated Private Insurance: The United States and the Long Road to Reform 267

12 Conclusion 299

Appendix A Glossary 321

Appendix B Web Resources 333

References 341

Index 369

What People are Saying About This

Paul Hamel

‘Well written and methodical, Health Care in Canada provides a useful look at the complexities of the Canadian health care system. Katherine Fierlbeck usefully articulates how the breadth and diversity of health care across the country generates formidable challenges to design and modification within the system. Fierlbeck’s descriptions of other countries’ systems are illuminating, and important for breaking through simplistic discussions used to support changes.’

Editorial Reviews

‘The book offers a solid framework for conducting policy debates and cross-border comparisons of health care. Governments and citizens must understand the politics of health-care financing and the many competing motivations, because as Fierlbeck concludes, only those who understand their system can shape it. ’—Susan Froestschel, Yale Global Online; November 2011
‘It is a high quality and informative work that could fill an important role in a collection devoted to analysis of health care policy and politics.’—John Pell, Reference Reviews, vol 28:03:2014

‘Well written and methodical, Health Care in Canada provides a useful look at the complexities of the Canadian health care system. Katherine Fierlbeck usefully articulates how the breadth and diversity of health care across the country generates formidable challenges to design and modification within the system. Fierlbeck’s descriptions of other countries’ systems are illuminating, and important for breaking through simplistic discussions used to support changes.’—Paul Hamel, Professor, Faculty of Medicine, and Director, Health Studies Program, University of Toronto

From the Publisher

‘It is a high quality and informative work that could fill an important role in a collection devoted to analysis of health care policy and politics.’

Reference Reviews, vol 28:03:2014 - John Pell

‘The book offers a solid framework for conducting policy debates and cross-border comparisons of health care. Governments and citizens must understand the politics of health-care financing and the many competing motivations, because as Fierlbeck concludes, only those who understand their system can shape it. ’

Susan Froestschel