In marking Medicare's 30th year in operation, it is fitting to focus on the program's successes. The fiscal pressures facing Medicare on both its own financing base and that of the Federal Government as a whole, and the rapid changes occurring elsewhere in the health care system, have led to a raft of criticisms of the program in recent years. Although Medicare could certainly be improved, paus...

Since becoming independent in 1965, Singapore has attained high standards in health care provision while successfully transferring a substantial portion of the health care burden to the private sector. The government's share of total health care expenditure contracted from 50% in 1965 to 25% in 2000. At first glance, the efficiency-driven health care financing reforms which emphasize individual...

China: Policy and Practice of MCH since the Early 1990s Youde Guo, David Zakus and Hong Liang (1 School of Social Develoment and Public Policy, Fudan University, China 2 Centre for International Health, University of Toronto, Canada) Abstract Since the socioeconomic reforms in China in the late 1970s the improvement of maternal and child health (MCH), which was once considered one of the great ...

A ithough Congress and other public policymakers have debated endlessly on the financing and restructuring of America's healthcare system, most arc loath to micromanage medical practice decisions— especially in this current era of Republican leadership. Yet this summer a number of state and congressional leaders have begun to propose and pass legislation that would dictate the length of a hospi...

BACKGROUND Climate change poses a major public health threat. A survey of U.S. local health department directors in 2008 found widespread recognition of the threat, but limited adaptive capacity, due to perceived lack of expertise and other resources. METHODS We assessed changes between 2008 and 2012 in local public health departments' preparedness for the public health threats of climate cha...

To say that SARS was a unique threat, and one that challenged public health and the entire health system in Ontario could be viewed as somewhat of an understatement. Never had the modern public health or the health care system been put to such a test or been put under such pressure to respond as during the two phases of SARS outbreaks earlier this year. The very uniqueness and stress that the S...

Cross-sectional health expenditure data are used to compare health expenditure aggregates and the contribution of the public and private sectors in a selection of 31 low, middle and high income countries. The comparative data illustrate the diversity of outcomes in terms of total health expenditure and its components even amongst countries with similar GDP per capita. Low and middle income coun...

BACKGROUND Financing for newborn screening is different from virtually all other public health programs. All except 5 screening programs collect fees as the primary source of program funding. A fee-based approach to financing newborn screening has been adopted by most states, to ensure consistent funding for this critical public health activity. METHODS Two types of data are reported here, ie...

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) increasingly is being recognized by health scholars and funders as a potent approach to collaboratively studying and acting to address health disparities. Emphasizing action as a critical part of the research process, CBPR is particularly consistent with the goals of "results oriented philanthropy" and of government funders who have become discourag...

BACKGROUND Public spending on health care in many developing countries falls short to provide a comprehensive set of essential health services, which indicates the need to target and prioritize resources. However, governments often attempt to provide free services to the whole population, and often spend resources on low-impact services. This results in an inequitable and inefficient use of res...