By David Colton. Starting from the premise that health care is a societal responsibility, contends that universal health care should not only be guaranteed by the government, it should be organized and administered by a federal agency and funded through a new, health care transaction tax. This will ensure that the national health care program is focused on quality and is fiscally sustainable for current and future generations of Americans, ridding it from cost over-runs and service denials due to the search for profitability.
Provides an understanding of each facet of the present, flawed health care system: how it is structured and organized; how we pay for health care; what factors influence access, quality, and affordability; and contrasts it with approaches taken by countries providing universal coverage.
Includes a description of how an American national health care program would be organized, what treatments would be covered, and how it would be funded. The role of quality improvement, utilization review, and evidence-based medicine in controlling costs is examined as is the economic and moral case for universal coverage. Read more.