Economics of Health and Health Care

On the front cover of this new edition of The Economics of Health and Health Care is a close-up of an AIDS drug molecule. Pandemic diseases such as these have endless reverberations in the fields of health and health care economics. The fourth edition includes a brand-new Chapter 23, "Epidemiology and Economics: AIDS in Africa," which looks at the economic consequences of epidemics, with particular interest in the worldwide AIDS epidemic. Other changes to this edition include: A newly arranged Part 4 that identifies key players in the health care sector, with special reference to nonprofit firms, hospitals, physicians, and the pharmaceutical industry (Chapters 13 to 16). The section on governmental actions, Part 5, is presented earlier in the text and covers equity and need, governmental regulation, social insurance, comparative systems, and health care reform (Chapters 17 to 21). A new Part 6 examines special topics such as a new chapter on epidemiology and economics, economic "bads" such as cigarettes, and a more detailed chapter examining the various aspects of cost-benefit analysis, the tool so very important to health analysts (Chapters 22 to 24). Visit the book's Companion Website for additional student and instructor resources: www.prenhall.com/follandFolland, Sherman is the author of 'Economics of Health and Health Care', published 2003 under ISBN 9780131000674 and ISBN 0131000675.