The Business of Health
by By Ohsfeldt, Robert L. and Schneider, John E.
Category: Business & Economics , Insurance , Health

Ohsfeldt (health policy and management, Texas A&M Health Science Center) and Schneider (health management and policy, U. of Iowa College of Public Health) assess the economics of the US health care system, contending that, contrary to World Health Organization and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reports, the US system does not produce excessive expenditures nor significantly underperform the systems of other developed countries. They discuss whether profit-seeking in health care is appropriate, specifically looking at specialty hospitals, managed care reform, and direct-to-consumer prescription drug marketing. As one might expect from a book published by the American Enterprise Institute, the authors support competition and conclude that free-markets lead to better outcomes than government ownership or control of service provision Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)