Review essay: politics, power, and universal health care by Stuart Altman and David Schachtman

Excerpt

In public discourse regarding health policy in Israel, one often hears that “we are on the road to America”. The concern underlying this cry is that the public–private mix in Israel, especially in terms of finance, is slowly wending its way towards the U.S. situation in which more than half of the national health expenditure comes from private sources. This is, of course, a somewhat skewed contention, as it disregards the fact that all Israeli residents are guaranteed a broad package of health entitlements, while in the U.S., fifteen percent of the population is uninsured. The attraction of simplistic, one-dimensional comparisons is great, especially in the heat of social debate. This tendency toward simplification exists not only in Israel, but also in the U.S. and other countries as well. It is good that parallel to this, a less strident and more considered discussion sometimes takes place among health policy analysts, providing understanding that, hopefully, takes its place in the maelstrom of the policy process. …