Journal of health politics, policy and law
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J Health Polit Policy Law · Aug 2008
Comparative StudyThe form and context of federalism: meanings for health care financing.
This article examines the meaning of federalism for health care financing (HCF) and is based on two considerations. First, federal institutions are embedded in their national context and interact with them. The design and performance of HCF policy will be influenced by contexts, the workings of the federal institutions, and the interactions of these institutions with different elements of the context. ⋯ Heterogeneity of context appears also to have contributed to important differences between the United States and the other countries in the design of HCF policies. An analysis of how federalism works in practice suggests that, while U. S. federalism may be overall less favorable to the development of well-functioning HCF policies, the inferior performance of these policies is to be principally attributed to context.
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J Health Polit Policy Law · Aug 2008
Historical ArticleAdministrative compensation of medical injuries: a hardy perennial blooms again.
Periods in which the costs of personal injury litigation and liability insurance have risen dramatically have often provoked calls for reform of the tort system, and medical malpractice is no exception. One proposal for fundamental reform made during several of these volatile periods has been to relocate personal injury disputes from the tort system to an alternative, administrative forum. ⋯ In this article, we consider the historical experience of administrative medical injury compensation proposals, particularly in light of comparative examples in the context of workplace injuries, automobile injuries, and vaccine injuries. We conclude by examining conditions that may facilitate or impede progress toward establishing demonstration projects of health courts.