Wounded Profession

by Arnold Birenbaum

"This new study explores how American health care evolved in the 1990s, as well as the changes in public support and policy. The '9Os saw the country moving toward a realization that health care had become unaffordable - or an enormous financial burden for people with otherwise adequate incomes. Health care providers and consumers alike worried than the problem was becoming uncontrollable. Doctors saw their autonomy and control eroded, employers saw their costs rising significantly, the costs began shifting to employees, and alternative approaches to cost containment were explored." "By the mid-'9Os, consumer backlash and increased utilization of the courts to force change helped stimulate a reexamination of public health policy and new legislation to broaden coverage and flexibility. Birenbaum examines where the interests of consumers and professionals have dovetailed and where they differ. He considers the health care system's future and suggested ways the system must be adjusted to