Foreign Remedies: What the Experience of Other Nations Can Tell Us about Next Steps in Reforming U.S. Health Care

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act marked a watershed in U.S. health policy, but controversy over its passage rages on, and much uncertainty surrounds the law's transformation from blueprint into operational program. How can the experience of other nations help us to reconcile the competing goals of universal coverage, cost control, and high quality care? Following an analysis of the 2010 statute, this book surveys developments in different parts of the globe to identify important lessons in health politics, policy design, and program implementation. A concluding chapter examines the issue of resistance to foreign remedies within the process of U.S. health reform.

David A. Rochefort is Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Northeastern University. His previous books include From Poorhouses to Homelessness: Policy Analysis and Mental Health Care (1997, 2nd ed.) and, co-edited with Robert B. Hackey, The New Politics of State Health Policy (2001), among other works. He has also served as a consultant to government agencies in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and at the federal level. Kevin P. Donnelly received his Ph.D. from Northeastern University in 2009 focusing on health policy and political language. He is Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Administration at Bridgewater State University. His publications have appeared in Harvard Health Policy Review and Medicine and Health Rhode Island.