Governing Health: The Politics of Health Policy by Carol S. Weissert, William G. Weissert

Nancy Milio

This is a political science book that presents a comprehensive synthesis and analysis of the institutions and process of healthcare policymaking. It is based on a review and assessment of the literature and on some original research on the changes in healthcare policymaking over the last 50 years, through the mid-1990s. It includes a comparison of Federal and state policymaking and concludes with a prognosis for healthcare reform. The purpose is to provide a text written by political scientists for use in health politics courses. The authors are well-qualified, having done extensive and recognized research in healthcare policymaking. The book is appropriate for many audiences interested in understanding and acting in healthcare policy arenas. The book has a moderate number of charts, tables, and boxes that synthesize the text. It also has an extensive, 23-page bibliography and a list of acronyms. The font is rather small. This text provides interested audiences with as much useable detail and insight as they would need for applied purposes in the fields of health policy analysis, action, and education. It should prove a lasting reference for several years for theoretical and practical purposes in healthcare policy arenas as they now move between Federal and state governments, between public and private sectors, between elected officials and private interest groups, both commercial and voluntary, professional and public interest. The changing impact of the AMA over 50 years is among the policy influences that are highlighted.

New England Journal of Medicine

A useful textbook for those in medical care with only a passing knowledge of the patterns of federal policy making in the postwar period.

— Theodore R. Marmor

JAMA

No other book offers a better overview of what every health professional or anyone who is intensely interested in health affairs should know about the politics of policy making.

Perspectives on Political Science

One of the most important books in health care policy to have been written in years.

— Michael Harris

Reviewer:Nancy Milio, PhD, FAAN, FAPHA(University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Public Health)
Description:This is a political science book that presents a comprehensive synthesis and analysis of the institutions and process of healthcare policymaking. It is based on a review and assessment of the literature and on some original research on the changes in healthcare policymaking over the last 50 years, through the mid-1990s. It includes a comparison of Federal and state policymaking and concludes with a prognosis for healthcare reform.
Purpose:The purpose is to provide a text written by political scientists for use in health politics courses. The authors are well-qualified, having done extensive and recognized research in healthcare policymaking.
Audience:The book is appropriate for many audiences interested in understanding and acting in healthcare policy arenas.
Features:The book has a moderate number of charts, tables, and boxes that synthesize the text. It also has an extensive, 23-page bibliography and a list of acronyms. The font is rather small.
Assessment:This text provides interested audiences with as much useable detail and insight as they would need for applied purposes in the fields of health policy analysis, action, and education. It should prove a lasting reference for several years for theoretical and practical purposes in healthcare policy arenas as they now move between Federal and state governments, between public and private sectors, between elected officials and private interest groups, both commercial and voluntary, professional and public interest. The changing impactof the AMA over 50 years is among the policy influences that are highlighted.

Health policy, like all exercises in politics, is about the wielding of power, note Carol Weissert (political science, Michigan State U.) and William Weissert (health management and policy, U. of Michigan). They present the history of U.S. health care policy as the product of the American system of government, combining ideological polarization and party politics, the dynamics of congressional needs for reelection and vote-trading, the discretionary power of the bureaucracy in its dealings with government and the public, the well- financed influence of health interests, and the budget and reconciliation process. Their work is divided into two sections that first describe the institutions of government and the interactions of structures and motivations and then explore the actual policy process itself. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Presenting health care policy as the product of the American system of government, this volume provides a synthesis of political science research on the institutions of government and the policy process, and an extensive review of the policies that have governed health care for a generation or more. Paper edition (unseen), $24.95. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Rating

4 Stars! from Doody

Product Details

• Table of Contents

Table of Contents