The Making and Meaning of Hospital Policy in the United States and Canada

This comparison of American and Canadian health care takes a fresh and analytical approach to the topic by systematically specifying the historical dynamics that gave rise to such radically different systems of health insurance in the first instance. Terry Boychuk takes us beyond the familiar policy discourse focusing on the benefits and costs of universal health insurance to a greater understanding of how these systems developed. The Making and Meaning of Hospital Policy in the United States and Canada endeavors to account for why Canada adopted national health insurance and why the United States did not. The findings illustrate the historical primacy of hospital politics and policy in the making of national health policy in North America. The study also establishes the first comparative history of hospital development and hospital policy in the United States and Canada from colonial times to the formation of modern social insurance programs. This book will appeal to those interested in health policy making, social policy, and American and Canadian political history. Its accessible style recommends it for use in undergraduate and graduate courses. Terry Boychuk is Assistant Professor, Macalester College