Clear Answers: The Economics and Politics of For-Profit Medicine [Paperback]

Kevin Taft (Author), Gillian Steward (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 10, 2000 | ISBN-10: 1552200833 | ISBN-13: 978-1552200834

The Government of Alberta under Ralph Klein has asked a reasonable question: can health care be better provided partly as a private, for-profit product rather than as a not-for-profit public service? But-despite the claims of advocates for market-driven medicine-private hospitals are neither cheaper nor more efficient than public ones. Clear Answers summarizes the huge body of evidence showing that they are more expensive and less efficient.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The Government of Alberta under Ralph Klein has asked a reasonable question: can health care be better provided partly as a private, for-profit product rather than as a not-for-profit public service? Bu--despite the claims of advocates for market-driven medicine--private hospitals are neither cheaper nor more efficient than public ones. Clear Answers summarizes the huge body of evidence showing that they are more expensive and less efficient.

The experts are not divided on this question. For example, the New England Journal of Medicine says bluntly that, in decades of research, "No peer-reviewed study has found that for-profit hospitals are less expensive."

No doubt our health-care system needs help, but in Clear Answers, Kevin Taft and Gillian Steward show--based on overwhelming evidence--that turning to for-profit medicine for solutions will only make costs higher and waiting lists longer. Canadians and their governments face a clear choice between private profit and the public interest.

About the Author

Kevin Taft never thought he’d be a politician. A public policy analyst and head of his own Edmonton-based consulting company, Kevin’s life took a sharp turn when he returned to Alberta in 1994 after a year away studying for a business degree. “Alberta had changed,” he recalls. “The government was gutting our health care system without a plan, throwing people’s lives into chaos.” Kevin watched in growing dismay as the government took aim at education and other public services Albertans had carefully built over many years. In 1997, Kevin wrote Shredding the Public Interest, a national bestseller which confirmed many Albertans’ concerns about the PCs. Clear Answers, a second bestseller in 2000, co-authored by Gillian Steward, exploded the myths of private, for-profit health care. Kevin stepped into public life in 2001, handily winning his Edmonton Riverview seat in the provincial election. He was elected Leader of the Alberta Liberals and Official Opposition three years later.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: University of Alberta Press (March 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1552200833
• ISBN-13: 978-1552200834
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,463,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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