One Nation, Uninsured: Why the U.S. Has No National Health Insurance - Hardcover

Quadagno, Jill

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195160398 ISBN 13: 9780195160390

Publisher: OUP USA, 2005

Synopsis

Every industrial nation in the world guarantees their citizens access to essential health care services--every country, that is, except the United States. Indeed, one in eight Americans--a shocking 43 million people--a majority of them in working families, do not have any health care insurance. One Nation, Uninsured offers a vividly written, path-breaking history of America's failed efforts to address the health care needs of its citizens. Ranging across the 20th century, Jill Quadagno shows how each attempt to enact national health insurance was met with fierce attacks by powerful stakeholders, who mobilized their considerable resources to keep the financing of health care out of the government's hands. Quadagno describes how in the first half of the twentieth century physicians led the anti-reform coalition, fearful that government entry would mean government control of the lucrative private health care market. Doctors lobbied legislators, influenced elections by giving large campaign contributions to sympathetic candidates, and organized "grassroots" protests, conspiring with other like-minded groups to defeat reform efforts. Only with Medicare and Medicaid, coverage for the very poor and the old--two groups that private insurers don't want to cover--have we seen any success with government insured health care. Yet even as Medicare succeeded at mid-century and physicians and the AMA receded from the battle's front lines, the insurance industry assumed a leading role against reform. Extending from the Progressive Era to the Clinton years, One Nation, Uninsured offers a sweeping history of the battles over health care. It is an invaluable read for anyone who wonders why our incredibly wealthy country is the only industrial nation that cannot ensure health care for all its citizens.

About this title

Review:

"Briskly written...an excellent primer for anybody interested in picking up the reform banner today.... Fresh, engaging."--Jonathan Cohn, Washington Post Book World"A strongly argued account that provides useful ammunition for anyone seeking to effect change in a medical system that willfully excludes so many who need it."--Kirkus Reviews"An important book. Jill Quadagno provides an impressive array of historical evidence to advance original arguments for why the United States lacks a comprehensive health care system and why health insurance should be viewed as a social right. This book is must reading for those concerned about health care reform in the United States." --William Julius Wilson, author of When Work Disappears"Readable and engaging.... Some of the most interesting portions come from Quadagno's own archival searches and her interviews with people who lived the history that she describes.... Quadagno's sustained focus on interest-group politics seems right on target."--New England Journal of Medicine"Jill Quadagno has produced the most comprehensive and up-to-date account of the power and effectiveness of interest groups in defeating a century of national health insurance reform campaigns. An impressive combination of theory and historical research, One Nation, Uninsured sets the parameters for the next round of debate over why the U.S. remains the only country without universal health insurance and how it might still expand access while reigning in costs." --Lawrence R. Jacobs, McKnight Land Grant Professor, University of Minnesota"A chilling historical account of how powerful groups with self-serving financial interests have successfully blocked attempts to enact national health insurance for seven decades, leaving tens of millions of our citizens without adequate health care coverage and often without even minimal care. Anyone eager to seek reform of our badly fragmented health care system must study its lessons and its blueprint for action; a task that will require nearly unprecedented political skills and monumental organizational prowess." --Jerome P. Kassirer, M.D., author of On The Take: How Medicine's Complicity With Big Business Can Endanger Your Health"Quadagno, a distinguished sociologist with a long-standing interest in policy, explores a century of government attempts to create universal health care and the powerful forces that have defeated those attempts.... Her sociological insights illuminate a path to reform."--Judy Goldstein Botello, The San Diego Union-Tribune"A sweeping and detailed account of the U.S. health insurance system's development during the 20th century. ...One Nation Uninsured is a clearly written, informative book that would be of interest to academics studying health care, politics, policy or U.S. history, and members of the lay public who want a better understanding of why the United States does not have universal health insurance. It would also be accessible to students, particularly those in advanced undergraduate courses or graduate seminars."--Social Forces "Briskly written...an excellent primer for anybody interested in picking up the reform banner today.... Fresh, engaging."--Jonathan Cohn, Washington Post Book World "A strongly argued account that provides useful ammunition for anyone seeking to effect change in a medical system that willfully excludes so many who need it."--Kirkus Reviews "An important book. Jill Quadagno provides an impressive array of historical evidence to advance original arguments for why the United States lacks a comprehensive health care system and why health insurance should be viewed as a social right. This book is must reading for those concerned about health care reform in the United States." --William Julius Wilson, author of When Work Disappears "Readable and engaging.... Some of the most interesting portions come from Quadagno's own archival searches and her interviews with people who lived the history that she describes.... Quadagno's sustained focus on interest-group politics seems right on target."--New England Journal of Medicine "Jill Quadagno has produced the most comprehensive and up-to-date account of the power and effectiveness of interest groups in defeating a century of national health insurance reform campaigns. An impressive combination of theory and historical research, One Nation, Uninsured sets the parameters for the next round of debate over why the U.S. remains the only country without universal health insurance and how it might still expand access while reigning in costs." --Lawrence R. Jacobs, McKnight Land Grant Professor, University of Minnesota "A chilling historical account of how powerful groups with self-serving financial interests have successfullyblocked attempts to enact national health insurance for seven decades, leaving tens of millions of our citizens without adequate health care coverage and often without even minimal care. Anyone eager to seek reform of our badly fragmented health care system must study its lessons and its blueprint for action; a task that will require nearly unprecedented political skills and monumental organizational prowess." --Jerome P. Kassirer, M.D., author of On The Take: How Medicine's Complicity With Big Business Can Endanger Your Health "Quadagno, a distinguished sociologist with a long-standing interest in policy, explores a century of government attempts to create universal health care and the powerful forces that have defeated those attempts.... Her sociological insights illuminate a path to reform."--Judy Goldstein Botello, The San Diego Union-Tribune "A sweeping and detailed account of the U.S. health insurance system's development during the 20th century. ...One Nation Uninsured is a clearly written, informative book that would be of interest to academics studying health care, politics, policy or U.S. history, and members of the lay public who want a better understanding of why the United States does not have universal health insurance. It would also be accessible to students, particularly those in advanced undergraduate courses or graduate seminars."--Social Forces "Briskly written...an excellent primer for anybody interested in picking up the reform banner today.... Fresh, engaging."--Jonathan Cohn, Washington Post Book World "A strongly argued account that provides useful ammunition for anyone seeking to effect change in a medical system that willfully excludes so many who need it."--Kirkus Reviews "An important book. Jill Quadagno provides an impressive array of historical evidence to advance original arguments for why the United States lacks a comprehensive health care system and why health insurance should be viewed as a social right. This book is must reading for those concerned about health care reform in the United States." --William Julius Wilson, author of When Work Disappears "Readable and engaging.... Some of the most interesting portions come from Quadagno's own archival searches and her interviews with people who lived the history that she describes.... Quadagno's sustained focus on interest-group politics seems right on target."--New England Journal of Medicine "Jill Quadagno has produced the most comprehensive and up-to-date account of the power and effectiveness of interest groups in defeating a century of national health insurance reform campaigns. An impressive combination of theory and historical research, One Nation, Uninsured sets the parameters for the next round of debate over why the U.S. remains the only country without universal health insurance and how it might still expand access while reigning in costs." --Lawrence R. Jacobs, McKnight Land Grant Professor, University of Minnesota "A chilling historical account of how powerful groups withself-serving financial interests have successfully blocked attempts to enact national health insurance for seven decades, leaving tens of millions of our citizens without adequate health care coverage and often without even minimal care. Anyone eager to seek reform of our badly fragmented health care system must study its lessons and its blueprint for action; a task that will require nearly unprecedented political skills and monumental organizational prowess." --Jerome P. Kassirer, M.D., author of On The Take: How Medicine's Complicity With Big Business Can Endanger Your Health "Quadagno, a distinguished sociologist with a long-standing interest in policy, explores a century of government attempts to create universal health care and the powerful forces that have defeated those attempts.... Her sociological insights illuminate a path to reform."--Judy Goldstein Botello, The San Diego Union-Tribune "A sweeping and detailed account of the U.S. health insurance system's development during the 20th century. ...One Nation Uninsured is a clearly written, informative book that would be of interest to academics studying health care, politics, policy or U.S. history, and members of the lay public who want a better understanding of why the United States does not have universal health insurance. It would also be accessible to students, particularly those in advanced undergraduate courses or graduate seminars."--Social Forces "Briskly written...an excellent primer for anybody interested in picking up the reform banner today.... Fresh, engaging."--Jonathan Cohn, Washington Post Book World"A strongly argued account that provides useful ammunition for anyone seeking to effect change in a medical system that willfully excludes so many who need it."--Kirkus Reviews"An important book. Jill Quadagno provides an impressive array of historical evidence to advance original arguments for why the United States lacks a comprehensive health care system and why health insurance should be viewed as a social right. This book is must reading for those concerned abouthealth care reform in the United States." --William Julius Wilson, author of When Work Disappears"Readable and engaging.... Some of the most interesting portions come from Quadagno's own archival searches and her interviews with people who lived the history that she describes.... Quadagno's sustained focus on interest-group politics seems right on target."--New England Journal of Medicine"Jill Quadagno has produced the most comprehensive and up-to-date account of the power and effectiveness of interest groups in defeating a century of national health insurance reform campaigns. An impressive combination of theory and historical research, One Nation, Uninsured sets the parameters forthe next round of debate over why the U.S. remains the only country without universal health insurance and how it might still expand access while reigning in costs." --Lawrence R. Jacobs, McKnight Land Grant Professor, University of Minnesota"A chilling historical account of how powerful groups with self-serving financial interests have successfullyblocked attempts to enact national health insurance for seven decades, leaving tens of millions of our citizens without adequate health care coverage and often without even minimal care.Anyone eager to seek reform of our badly fragmented health care system must study its lessons and its blueprint for action; a task that will require nearly unprecedented political skills and monumental organizational prowess." --Jerome P. Kassirer, M.D., author of On The Take: How Medicine'sComplicity With Big Business Can Endanger Your Health"Quadagno, a distinguished sociologist with a long-standing interest in policy, explores a century of government attempts to create universal health care and the powerful forces that have defeated those attempts.... Her sociological insights illuminate a path to reform."--Judy Goldstein Botello, TheSan Diego Union-Tribune"A sweeping and detailed account of the U.S. health insurance system's development during the 20th century. ...One Nation Uninsured is a clearly written, informative book that would be of interest to academics studying health care, politics, policy or U.S. history, and members of the lay public whowant a better understanding of why the United States does not have universal health insurance. It would also be accessible to students, particularly those in advanced undergraduate courses or graduate seminars."--Social Forces

About the Author:

Jill Quadagno is the Mildred and Claude Pepper Eminent Scholar in Social Gerontology and Professor of Sociology at Florida State University. A past president of the American Sociological Association, she has served as Senior Policy Advisor on the President's Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform.

About this edition

• Publisher: OUP USA
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0195160398
• ISBN 13: 9780195160390
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288