Health Care Issues in the United States and Japan

2007-12-01 Business & Economics

Author : David A. Wise
Release : 2007-12-01
Genre : Business & Economics
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 249/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Health Care Issues in the United States and Japan by : David A. Wise

Download or read book Health Care Issues in the United States and Japan written by David A. Wise. This book was released on 2007-12-01. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Health Care Systems in Japan and the United States

2012-12-06 Business & Economics

Author : Ryuzo Sato
Release : 2012-12-06
Genre : Business & Economics
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 817/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Health Care Systems in Japan and the United States by : Ryuzo Sato

Download or read book Health Care Systems in Japan and the United States written by Ryuzo Sato. This book was released on 2012-12-06. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The health care sector has become a major component of the contemporary econo mies of Japan and the United States. It absorbs significant proportions of the GDP in both countries and places increasing stress on private, government and corporate budgets. As their income rises, the citizens ofJapan and the United States choose to allocate increasing portions of it on health care services because ofthe direct contri bution of health care services to prolonged life expectancy, reduced morbidity, or other indicators of improved health and well-being. The health care sector is a ma jor source ofemployment and affects the lives of all citizens. Adequate health care services are expected to have an important contribution to the quality of human life in any society. With so much at stake, arrangements for planning, financing, and operating health care service systems have increasingly come to be regarded as im portant economic and political issues. The political importance of health care is evidenced by the health care reform proposals of the Clinton administration in the United States and the deep involve ment of the government in the medical care security system in Japan. As policy makers in both countries look ahead to the coming decades, they realize that the imperatives of economic restructuring, globalization, and their rapidly aging socie ties will affect the way in which health care is organized, delivered, and financed.

Explaining Divergent Levels of Longevity in High-Income Countries

2011-06-27 Social Science

Author : National Research Council
Release : 2011-06-27
Genre : Social Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 105/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Explaining Divergent Levels of Longevity in High-Income Countries by : National Research Council

Download or read book Explaining Divergent Levels of Longevity in High-Income Countries written by National Research Council. This book was released on 2011-06-27. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the last 25 years, life expectancy at age 50 in the United States has been rising, but at a slower pace than in many other high-income countries, such as Japan and Australia. This difference is particularly notable given that the United States spends more on health care than any other nation. Concerned about this divergence, the National Institute on Aging asked the National Research Council to examine evidence on its possible causes. According to Explaining Divergent Levels of Longevity in High-Income Countries, the nation's history of heavy smoking is a major reason why lifespans in the United States fall short of those in many other high-income nations. Evidence suggests that current obesity levels play a substantial part as well. The book reports that lack of universal access to health care in the U.S. also has increased mortality and reduced life expectancy, though this is a less significant factor for those over age 65 because of Medicare access. For the main causes of death at older ages-cancer and cardiovascular disease-available indicators do not suggest that the U.S. health care system is failing to prevent deaths that would be averted elsewhere. In fact, cancer detection and survival appear to be better in the U.S. than in most other high-income nations, and survival rates following a heart attack also are favorable. Explaining Divergent Levels of Longevity in High-Income Countries identifies many gaps in research. For instance, while lung cancer deaths are a reliable marker of the damage from smoking, no clear-cut marker exists for obesity, physical inactivity, social integration, or other risks considered in this book. Moreover, evaluation of these risk factors is based on observational studies, which-unlike randomized controlled trials-are subject to many biases.

The Healing of America

2010-08-31 Health & Fitness

Author : T. R. Reid
Release : 2010-08-31
Genre : Health & Fitness
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 218/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis The Healing of America by : T. R. Reid

Download or read book The Healing of America written by T. R. Reid. This book was released on 2010-08-31. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Bestseller, with an updated explanation of the 2010 Health Reform Bill "Important and powerful . . . a rich tour of health care around the world." —Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times Bringing to bear his talent for explaining complex issues in a clear, engaging way, New York Times bestselling author T. R. Reid visits industrialized democracies around the world--France, Britain, Germany, Japan, and beyond--to provide a revelatory tour of successful, affordable universal health care systems. Now updated with new statistics and a plain-English explanation of the 2010 health care reform bill, The Healing of America is required reading for all those hoping to understand the state of health care in our country, and around the world. T. R. Reid's latest book, A Fine Mess: A Global Quest for a Simpler, Fairer, and More Efficient Tax System, is also available from Penguin Press.

Containing Health Care Costs in Japan

2010-05-06 Medical

Author : Naoki Ikegami
Release : 2010-05-06
Genre : Medical
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 132/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Containing Health Care Costs in Japan by : Naoki Ikegami

Download or read book Containing Health Care Costs in Japan written by Naoki Ikegami. This book was released on 2010-05-06. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Japanese health care system provides universal coverage to a healthy but aging population. Its costs are among the lowest in the world and have remained nearly constant as a share of the economy for more than a decade. Americans concerned about runaway medical spending need to know about the successes that Japan has experienced and the problems the country has encountered in its effort to control costs while maintaining quality of care. Offered here is an analysis of the key issues of cost-containment by specialists followed by reactions from some of America's best-known experts on health care delivery and finance. Topics include the macro-and microeconomics of health care, technology and costs, institutions and costs, attitudinal and behavioral aspects, and the politics of health care. This collection provides an authoritative study of successful cost-containment in the Japanese health care system---a chronicle of success that is neither a statistical illusion nor a result of sociocultural factors. Detailed here is information on the key mechanism of cost constraint: a fee schedule that covers virtually all medical services and rewards inexpensive services while making expensive services unprofitable. This system has resulted in the provision of quality health care to the entire population at roughly half the cost of American health care. Is it a single-payer system? Would the United States have to introduce a dramatically altered health care structure to benefit from the Japanese experience? No. Japan relies mainly on fee-for-service medicine financed by multiple insurers---a system familiar to Americans and one from which many lessons may be learned. Based on conferences held in Washington, D.C., and Izu, Japan, this volume collects original chapters on the overall cost structure, how the negotiated mandatory fee schedule works, specific mechanisms for cost control, the politics of health care financing, and the impact of cost cutting on quality, among other topics. These pathbreaking studies will be a significant resource for policymakers and scholars interested in comparative health care systems as well as those interested in health care reform in the United States.

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Health Care Issues in the United States and Japan

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The Healing of America

Containing Health Care Costs in Japan

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