Provides an overview of the many factors that contribute to high health care costs and high spending levels
Includes bibliographical references (pages 133-148) and index
1. What Do We Mean By "Too Much"? Cost vs. Spending. Measurement Problems. Relevant Comparisons. Subjectivity of Values. How We Know Spending is Too High. Policy Implications -- 2. International Comparisons. Percent of GDP. Per-capita Spending. How We Compare -- 3. Why Health Care Costs Are So High. Wealth and Culture. Geography and Heterogeneity. Sex, Crime, and Disease. The Beginning and End of Life. Technology and Law. Can We Change? -- 4. Why We Spend Too Much. Government Subsidies. Taxation of Health Insurance Premiums. Government as Regulator. These We Can Change -- 5. Non-Solutions. The Problem of the Uninsured. National Health Insurance. Managed Competition. Mandatory Employer-Provided Insurance. Socialized Medicine -- 6. Better Solutions. A Fresh Start. The NCPA Plan. The ALEC Plan -- 7. Where We Go From Here. What You Can Do. A Parting Thought
