Health Care Politics, Policy, and Services: A Social Justice Analysis / Edition 3

by Gunnar Almgren MSW, PhD

Overview

This AJN award-winning textbook helps readers understand and critically assess the U.S. health care system and policies. With a focus on the prevalence of disparities in health and health care, the book reviews the historical evolution and organization of our health care system. Several social justice theories are used to critically evaluate current U.S. health care systems and policies, providing readers with various perspectives of the field. Extensive coverage of our health care system’s structures, finances, and performance on a variety of population health indicators provides the necessary background, frameworks, and principles through which the adequacy of alternative health care system financing strategies can be analyzed.

Highlights include:

• Analyzes the current U.S. health care system and policies from several social justice theories, providing a critical examination of the field.
• Examines the historical evolvement of the U.S. health care system, its financing and health care delivery structures, and the prospects for health care reform.
• Analyzes disparities in access to health and health care by race, ethnicity, class, age, gender, and geography.
• Compares the U.S. health care system with that of other democracies, providing a unique comparative perspective.

New to This Edition:

• Revised chapter on health care reform that considers the 2016 election and anticipated changes to the Affordable Care Act.
• Provides the latest information on the financing and organization of the U.S. health care system.
• Examines the nation’s health care needs, the prevalence of health and health care disparities, and the latest theories that explain the causal origins of health and health care disparities.
• Addresses the latest developments in health care policy domains such as long-term care, end-of-life care, and initiatives to reduce disparities in health.
• Updated data on long-term financing and expenditures including baby boomers’ increased demand for long-term services and expanded entitlements for the disabled.
• Updated instructor’s resources include for each chapter: chapter synopsis and learning objectives, ideas worth grasping, key terms and concepts, discussion questions, and writing assignments.

This book is an ideal text for graduate courses in health care policy or disparities in the U.S. health care system in schools of social work, public health, nursing, medicine, and public policy and administration.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826168979
Publisher:	Springer Publishing Company
Publication date:	10/24/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	346
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Gunnar Almgren, PhD, is Professor of Social Work and Social Welfare at the University of Washington, Seattle Campus.

Read an Excerpt

chapter

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. A Primer on Theories of Social Justice and Defining the Problem of Health Care

Defining the Problem of Social Justice

Alternative Theories of Social Justice

Concluding Comments: Alternative Theoretical Perspectives on “The Right to Health Care”

Notes

References

2. The Historical Evolvement of the U.S. Health Care System

Historical Evolvement of the Basic Components of the Health Care System: Hospitals, Doctors, Nurses, and Health Insurance

The Historical Evolvement of the Federal Government in Health Care

Concluding Comments: Prospects for Achieving Health Care Reform

Notes

References

3. The Contemporary Organization of Health Care: Health Care Finance

Health Care Expenditures

An Overview of Health Care System Finance—Employment-Based Health Insurance

An Overview of Health Care System Finance—Public Financing of Health Care

Concluding Comments: The Large Presence of Public Dollars in the Financing of Health Care

Notes

References

4. The Contemporary Organization of Health Care: Health Care Services and Utilization

The Mixed Public–Private Structure of the U.S. Health Care System

The Resources of the U.S. System: Facilities, Technology, and Human Resources

The Health Care System Safety Net

Concluding Comments: The Paradoxical Underachievement of the U.S. Health Care System

Notes

References

5. Long-Term Care of the Aged and Disabled

The Long-Term Care Services System

The Sustainability of Resources for Long-Term Care: Caregiving Labor and Public/Private Financing

Directions for Long-Term Financing Policy

Concluding Comments: A Social Justice Perspective on the Financing of Long-Term Care

Notes

References

6. Disparities in Health and Health Care

Conceptualizing Disparities in Health and Health Care

Measuring Disparities in Health and Health Care

Social Characteristics Associated With Disparities in Health and Health Care

Disparities in Health and Burden of Disease: General Findings

Concluding Comments: The Deep Roots of Disparities in Health Care

Notes

References

7. Social Epidemiology: Unraveling the Social Determinants of Disparities in Health

The Discipline of Social Epidemiology

The “Fundamental Social Causes” Hypothesis

Income Inequality as a Social Determinant of Health

Theoretical Debates Concerning Income Inequality Effects

Concluding Comments: Social Epidemiology as a Tool of Social Policy

Notes

References

8. Prospects for Just Health Care System Reform: A Political and Principled Analysis

The Social and Political Context of Health Care Reform

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)

The Politics of the ACA “Repeal and Replace”: Implications for the Social Right to Health Care

Concluding Comments: Toward a Progressive Vision of Universal Health Care

Notes

References

Glossary

Index

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Carole A. Kenner, PhD, RN, FAAN, FNAP, ANEF (The College of New Jersey)
Description: This book brings the unique perspective of social justice to the discussion of healthcare policy. Its premise is that health professionals need to be at the policy table armed with their stories of frontline work. This edition offers online access to an accompanying instructor's manual to supplement and guide faculty, as well as an ebook version. The previous edition was published in 2012.
Purpose: The purpose is to present material for health professionals to use in grounding their healthcare experience in policy terms. The author posits that social justice as a framework helps readers to understand current healthcare issues and policy needs. The supplemental materials are most helpful in facilitating student engagement through classroom dialog and written exercises, and they add value to the book, but not in an interactive way online.
Audience: The intended audience is graduate students interested in health policy and health disparities. The book also would be of interest to faculty and health professionals who want a different perspective on policy work. The author is a well-known expert in the field of sociology and policy.
Features: The book begins by laying the foundation of social justice theories. Then it moves into descriptions of healthcare systems and financing, followed by specific topics such as long-term care and health policy. This edition adds depth to the current tension surrounding the Affordable Care Act and where this might go in the future. A health disparities approach is added to this edition with an emphasis on strategies to reduce disparities.
Assessment: There are many policy books on the market, but this one's social justice context sets it apart from its competition.

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