Synopsis
Governments everywhere have a newfound interest in privatizing healthcare services. This collection explores the deep-rooted tensions between publicly-funded health care systems and the dynamics of public markets to deliver privately-financed health care. It explains the attraction and limitations of market-led health reform and the indispensable role of a vibrant public authority in the renewal of modern health care systems. International authorities in the field examine public-private conflicts in health policy including cost-containment, and privatization strategies in an international perspective, and the role of business and the private sector in setting the agenda for health care reform. The contributors focus on the restructuring of Anglo-Saxon health systems and the shift in state/market boundaries in Canada, the US, Britain and Australia.