Written by a well-respected health and public policy expert, this book provides a comprehensive exploration of the under-appreciated role of public health policy in the United States’ medical care industry. The book offers students: • an introduction to the fundamentals of health policy, with comparative perspectives from other countries; • analysis of major health care programmes, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act and regulatory programs; • reflections on issues around access, quality, cost, and the ethics of provision. By drawing comparisons between the US and other countries, it deepens our understanding of health policy in the US, where it is headed next, and what it might learn from other systems.The role of public health policy in the US medical care industry is often under-appreciated. This comprehensive exploration lays out the fundamentals of health care politics, programmes and regulatory frameworks, considers key practical and ethical issues around access, quality and cost, and suggests where policy might be headed next.