Introduction : basic issues and concepts -- The countries and their characteristics -- The United States : high-technology and limited access -- Canada : challenges to public payment for universal care -- Japan : preventive health care as cultural norm -- Germany : a tradition of universal health care -- France : centrally controlled and locally managed -- The Netherlands : gradual adaptation -- Sweden : decentralized comprehensive care -- The United Kingdom : the economy model -- The Czech Republic : a new mixture of public and private services -- Hungary : creating a remodeled system --Russia : transition to market and consumer orientation -- China : privatizing socialist health care -- Mexico : modernizing structure and expanded rural services -- Organization variations and reforms -- Economic organization of health care : comparative perspectives -- Expectations for reform : a glimpse at the future