| Health Care Issues in the United States and Japan Contributor(s): Wise, David A. (Editor), Yashiro, Naohiro (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0226902927 ISBN-13: 9780226902920 Publisher: University of Chicago Press OUR PRICE: $93.06 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: August 2006 Annotation: Recent data shows wide disparity between Japan and the United States in the effectiveness of their health care systems. While Japan spends close to the lowest percentage of gross domestic product on health care among OECD countries, the United States spends the highest--yet life expectancies in Japan are among the world's longest. Clearly a great deal can be learned from a comprehensive comparative analysis of health care issues in these two countries. In "Health Care Issues in the United States and Japan, " a group of leading experts in health care and economics explore the structural characteristics of the health care systems in both nations, the economic incentives underlying the systems, and how they operate in practice. Japan's system, contributors show, is characterized by generous insurance schemes, a lack of gatekeepers, and fee-for-service mechanisms. In contrast, the United States' structure is distinguished by the public Medicare system for persons over 65 and by employer-provided insurance for the younger population. But despite the relative success of the Japanese system, an aging population and a general shift from infectious diseases to more chronic maladies are forcing the Japanese to consider a model more closely resembling that of the United States. In an era when rising health care costs and aging populations are motivating reforms throughout the world, this timely study will proveinvaluable. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Medical | Health Care Delivery |
| Dewey: 362.109 |
| LCCN: 2005055904 |
| Series: National Bureau of Economic Research Conference Report (Hardcover) |
| Physical Information: 0.81" H x 6.22" W x 9.36" (1.11 lbs) 256 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Japanese |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Recent data show wide disparity between Japan and the United States in the effectiveness of their health care systems. Japan spends close to the lowest percentage of its gross domestic product on health care among OECD countries, the United States spends the highest, yet life expectancies in Japan are among the world's longest. Clearly, a great deal can be learned from a comprehensive comparative analysis of health care issues in these two countries. In Health Care Issues in the United States and Japan, contributors explore the structural characteristics of the health care systems in both nations, the economic incentives underlying the systems, and how they operate in practice. Japan's system, they show, is characterized by generous insurance schemes, a lack of gatekeepers, and fee-for-service mechanisms. The United States' structure, on the other hand, is distinguished by for-profit hospitals, privatized health insurance, and managed care. But despite its relative success, an aging population and a general shift from infectious diseases to more chronic maladies are forcing the Japanese to consider a model more closely resembling that of the United States. In an age when rising health care costs and aging populations are motivating reforms throughout the world, this timely study will prove invaluable. |
Contributor Bio(s): Wise, David A.: - David A. Wise is the John F. Stambaugh Professor of Political Economy emeritus at Harvard Kennedy School and a research associate of the NBER. |