The calls for health care reform are as loud as they are persistent. A variety of stakeholders both inside and outside the health care industry regularly voice their concerns about issues such as Medicare, managed care, health insurance, coverage for the uninsured, and the role of tax policy in health care.

While federal policymakers have so far failed to enact sweeping legislation addressing the nation's health care system, significant changes affecting health care financing, insurance, and service delivery have occurred.

The political implications and economic consequences of these reforms are the subject of this book. Its six chapters, authored by a select group of leading health economists, provide insights useful for evaluating further developments in what is sure to be an ongoing and contentious health care reform debate.