Synopses & Reviews
In no other country has health care served as such a volatile flashpoint of ideological conflict. America has endured a century of rancorous debate on health insurance, and despite the passage of legislation in 2010, the battle is not yet over. This book is a history of how and why the United States became so stubbornly different in health care, presented by an expert with unsurpassed knowledge of the issues.
Tracing health-care reform from its beginnings to its current uncertain prospects, Paul Starr argues that the United States ensnared itself in a trap through policies that satisfied enough of the public and so enriched the health-care industry as to make the system difficult to change.
He reveals the inside story of the rise and fall of the Clinton health plan in the early 1990s—and of the Gingrich counterrevolution that followed. And he explains the curious tale of how Mitt Romneys reforms in Massachusetts became a model for Democrats and then follows both the passage of those reforms under Obama and the explosive reaction they elicited from conservatives. Writing concisely and with an even hand, the author offers exactly what is needed as the debate continues—a penetrating account of how health care became such treacherous terrain in American politics.
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"Murray offers us a revisionist history of Progressive-era health care reforms, marshalling evidence from a treasure trove of sources."Howard Bodenhorn, Lafayette College
-- Clive Cookson - Financial Times Magazine
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“Murrays startling and new findings have important implications for current policy debatesespecially proposed reforms to the American health insurance industry.”Werner Troesken, University of Pittsburgh
-- Howard Bodenhorn
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“John Murrays
Origins is a strikingly original reconsideration of Progressive-era industrial sickness fundstheir track record, their appeal for high-mobility American workers, and their political implications. Good books on health policy history are sorely needed these days, both for economists and the general public. This one is highly recommended.”
Gavin Wright, Stanford University -- Werner Troesken
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“John Murray offers a compelling explanation for the defeat of governmental health insurance in the United States during the early twentieth century. Murray finds that voters rejected governmental plans because they saw no reason to change the status quo. This book is a devastating retort to the dominant interpretation which holds that this movement fell prey to the power of special interests and hysterical propaganda.”David T. Beito, University of Alabama
-- Gavin Wright
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"Murrays superb history of sickness insurance and the demise of attempts to enact a government substitute during the Progressive Era is a must-read for anyone interested in the current health insurance debates."Price V. Fishback, co-author of
A Prelude to the Welfare State: The Origins of Workers Compensation -- David T. Beito
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". . . [A]n engaging and readable history of a neglected set of institutions, combined with a vigorous (but fair) argument about how some scholars have misunderstood the operation of these funds. He draws evidence from both qualitative historical records and econometric analysis."Thomas N. Maloney, Project Muse -- Price V. Fishback
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"Murrays book is simply the best, most balanced, and most thorough treatment of the topic available. I cannot recommend it more highly or with any greater enthusiasm. Origins of American Health Insurance is simultaneously a lesson in economics and a lesson in history."--Werner Troesken, The Independent Review -- Thomas N. Maloney - Project Muse
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“This book will help those on both sides of the aisle to frame and justify policy in this area and to better understand the complexity of the issues involved.”Shannon Christian, former associate commissioner, Child Care Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services -- David A. Strauss
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"Ziglers solutions to the national childcare crisisexpanded awareness, expert advocacy and enlightened policymakingare timely and wise."J. Lawrence Aber, New York University -- Shannon Christian
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"From a historical perspective few can match, Zigler and his co-authors offer a pragmatic solution to Americas childcare problems that puts children first. Every reader will learn something useful."W. Steven Barnett, National Institute for Early Education Research -- J. Lawrence Aber
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"Throughout his career, Ed Zigler has worked to get to yes on universal child care. Here, he presents a compelling vision for how research can inform child care policy, offering a workable hybrid solution as a way forward."Kathleen McCartney, Dean, Harvard Graduate School of Education -- W. Steven Barnett
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“Remarkable. . . . There couldnt be a more astute insider to the pol Publishers Weekly
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"A useful contribution as the country moves forward with the implementation of health-care reform."—Kirkus Reviews Shannon Brownlee
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"First, [Starr] objectively draws together the threads of myriad voices and special interests in the centurylong American health-care debate and weaves them into a wholly comprehensible pattern. ...Second, Starr cogently explains the highlights of the recently passed and highly controversial Affordable Care Act...In sum, this self-admitted universal-health-care advocate and seasoned realist leaves readers questioning, as he does, whether Americans can 'summon the elementary decency toward the sick that characterizes other democracies.'" —Donna Chavez, Booklist (starred review)
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"[A] clear, comprehensive, and compelling chronicle of the health care debate....Starr is at the top of his game."—Glenn Altschuler, Huffington Post
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“The best summary and political analysis of health care reform Ive read....Starr nails every nuance while taking the analysis one level deeper than any other treatment Ive read.”—Austin Frakt, The Incidental Economist
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“Paul Starr has written a fascinating chronicle of Americas century-long journey to health reform that is, at once, erudite history, vivid journalism, and authoritative guide to a debate that will continue for decades.”—Henry J. Aaron, co-author of Using Taxes to Reform Health Care
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"Three decades ago Paul Starr wrote the definitive history of American medicine. Remedy and Reaction now offers the definitive analysis of American health care reform—its history, nature, and continuing vulnerability."—Timothy Jost, co-editor, Transforming American Medicine: A Twenty Year Retrospective
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"
Remedy and Reaction is the story of health care in America, told by the man who knows it best. Whether you're a serious scholar or just a serious citizen, you should read this."—Jonathan Cohn, senior editor,
The New RepublicReview
"Heres the book weve been waiting for—a lucid history of Americas struggle over healthcare reform, blending the political, economic, and social pressures that have brought us to where we are, and suggesting where were headed. With great insight and impeccable writing, Paul Starr explains why that struggle has been particularly bitter and partisan in the United States, why the resulting compromises have left so many people unsatisfied, and why the underlying problems continue to evade us. Brilliant and important."—Robert B. Reich, Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy, Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley
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"Paul Starr, who gave us a magisterial account of the history of American medicine, now has given us the definitive account of the history of the struggle to enact health reform in America. Starr has done more than just study reform—he was a player in efforts to achieve it. Remedy and Reaction is in some ways thus an insider's history, which only enriches the experience of the reader. This book is a lively read, but has depth and insight. From its account of the early experiences in the twentieth century with reform, up through the disappointments in our livetimes to achieve any comprehensive change, through the enactment of the Affordable Care Act and the story of its uncertain future, Remedy and Reaction is the definitive account of the history of health reform in America." —Norman Ornstein, co-author of The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get it Back on Track
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"Few books as important as this one is are as clearly and compellingly written. Remedy and Reaction is a brilliant analysis of the political conflicts and compromises that led to the passage of the Affordable Care Act, and a fitting sequel to Paul Starr's masterful book, The Social Transformation of American Medicine. The final page came much too soon."—Shannon Brownlee, author of Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine is Making Us Sicker and Poorer
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"Remarkable. . . . There couldn't be a more astute insider to the politics of reform than Starr. . . . Starr's history of America's battle over whether health care should be a right is an exacting look at politics and policies—and a challenge to Americans to overcome their fear and distrust in order to protect the sick and vulnerable."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
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"[Starr's] unsentimental perspective serves him well in this outstanding volume."—Harold Pollack, Washington Monthly
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"[D]elivers an insightful political analysis."—Kristen Greencher, The Charlotte Observer
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"As a work of policy history Remedy and Reaction excels…. [Starr] chronicles just how difficult a struggle it has been to make the U.S. healthcare system more equitable and efficient and how far we still have to go."—Jonathan Oberlander, Science
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“ [A] remarkable chronicle of the hundred-year effort to legislate universal health insurance in the United States…. Nobody with a sense of history—that is, nobody who reads Starrs book—could doubt how sensible and brave was the presidents effort to drive the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 through Congress.” —Bernard Avishai, The Nation
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"[An] interesting and engaging account of the many attempts made over the past century to reform care in this country. As daunting, even wonkish, as this may sound, Starr does an excellent job of explaining the different proposals and identifying the reasons why some succeeded where others failed so spectacularly."—Dennis Rosen, Boston Globe
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Winner of the 2011 PROSE Award in Government and Politics, as given by the Association of American Publishers. Dennis Rosen - Boston Globe
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"[A] useful and lucid history of American health reform . . . Anyone seeking to understand how difficult it will be to implement President Barack Obama's health care reforms will be enlightened by Starr's readable and engrossing narrative. Highly recommended."—Jeff Goldsmith, Health Affairs
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"Remarkable. . . . There couldn't be a more astute insider to the politics of reform than Starr."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review Publishers Weekly
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“[A] remarkable chronicle of the hundred-year effort to legislate universal health insurance in the United States….” —Bernard Avishai, The Nation Harold Pollack - Washington Monthly
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Winner of the 2011 American Publishers Awards and Scholarly Excellence (PROSE) in the Government and Politics category, as given by the Association of American Publishers
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Read an interview with Paul Starr on the Yale Press Log Kirkus Reviews
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"[C]oncise and beautifully written."—Michael Gusmano, Commonweal
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"None of the numerous other histories of US health care policy develops these themes in such an illuminating fashion. . . . [an] excellent, cogently argued work."—Samuel Y. Sessions, Journal of the American Medical Association
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“Excellent, cogently argued.”—
Journal of the American Medical AssociationReview
“Engrossing.”—
HealthAffairsSynopsis
How did the United States come to have its distinctive workplace-based health insurance system? Why did Progressive initiatives to establish a government system fail? This book explores the history of health insurance in the United States from its roots in the nineteenth-century sickness funds offered by industrial employers, fraternal organizations, and labor unions to the rise of such group plans as Blue Cross and Blue Shield in the mid-twentieth century.
Historians generally view the failure to establish universal health insurance during the first half of the twentieth century as an indicator of the political clout of insurers, employers, unions, and physicians who thwarted Progressive efforts. But the explanation is actually simpler, John Murray contends in this book. Careful analysis of the workings of industrial sickness funds suggests that workers rejected plans for compulsory state insurance because they were largely content with existing private plans. Murray revises our understanding of the evolution of health care insurance in the United States and discusses the implications of that history for the ongoing debates of today.
Synopsis
Why the United States has failed to establish a comprehensive high-quality child care program is the question at the center of this book. Edward Zigler has been intimately involved in this issue since the 1970s, and here he presents a firsthand history of the policy making and politics surrounding this important debate.
Good-quality child care supports cognitive, social, and emotional development, school readiness, and academic achievement. This book examines the history of child care policy since 1969, including the inside story of Americas one great attempt to create a comprehensive system of child care, its failure, and the lack of subsequent progress. Identifying specific issues that persist today, Zigler and his coauthors conclude with an agenda designed to lead us successfully toward quality care for Americas children.
Synopsis
This book offers a timely account of health reform struggles in developed democracies. The editors, leading experts in the field, have brought together a group of distinguished scholars to explore the ambitions and realities of health care regulation, financing, and delivery across countries. These wide-ranging essays cover policy debates and reforms in Canada, Germany, Holland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as separate treatments of some of the most prominent issues confronting policy makers. These include primary care, hospital care, long-term care, pharmaceutical policy, and private health insurance. The authors are attentive throughout to the ways in which cross-national, comparative research may inform national policy debates not only under the Obama administration but across the world.
Synopsis
A leading expert explains how Americans trapped themselves in a costly and complicated health system—and came to fight so bitterly about changing it
About the Author
What do you most want people to understand from reading this book?
I hope the book illuminates how an issue that is more or less settled in every other democracy became a seemingly intractable political problem in the United States.
It did not have to turn out this way. The legislation adopted in 2010 has its roots in moderate Republican proposals. But Americas polarized politics make it difficult to see the reforms clearly and put them in historical perspective. I hope the book helps to provide that understanding.
Whats the relationship of Remedy and Reaction to your 1984 book, The Social Transformation of American Medicine?
In some ways its a sequel, but each of its three parts has a somewhat different foundation. Part One, about how health-care reform and the health-care system took shape during the twentieth century, presents the same kind of social and historical analysis as Social Transformation did.
But Part Two, which deals with the parallel stories of the Clinton health plan and Republican health reforms in the Gingrich and Bush years, also reflects my observations inside the Clinton White House. Thats a kind of experience not usually available to historians.
Finally, Part Three, about the battle over health-care reform under Obama, combines journalism and historical analysis because it draws on interviews with participants, many of whom I know from my prior time in Washington.
Why did Obama succeed where Clinton failed?
Between 1993 and 2009, the biggest change was the emergence of a consensus about the basic elements of legislation among reformers, major interest groups, and leading Democrats in Congress. The reforms adopted in Massachusetts in 2006 as a result of Mitt Romneys leadership were critical in shaping that consensus. Obama accepted that approach; he didnt originate it. Romney probably deserves more credit for the basic architecture of the national reforms, and I hope one day he proudly accepts that credit.
Didnt Obamas leadership matter?
If Obama hadnt decided to make health-care reform a priority as president, it would never have passed. Why did he take it on? His earlier history didnt indicate a deep commitment to health-care reform. I think the 2008 presidential campaign was crucial because of the pressure from the party base to confront the issue, plus an accident of history: he ran into Hillary Clinton on the way to the nomination, and debating her forced him to master health policy. Perhaps most important, the support for reform from key stakeholder groups and members of Congress changed the political calculus on health care. Thats what made it a better bet than climate legislation.