ABSTRACT
Health care policy is certainly one of the most significant components of public policies in developed countries. The health care policies of developed countries are widely diverse and based upon different systems. For example, the ‘National Health Service System’ of the UK is characterised by its universal coverage and general tax financing. Before the implementation of the ‘internal market’ reform within the NHS, the government played the dual roles of financing and providing public health care to its citizens. Political economy analyses of health have commonly addressed ways in which the capitalist context and the needs of capitalism affect the health needs of the population. Under this perspective, health needs are defined in political terms with particular emphasis upon access to and control and struggle over the basic material and non-material resources that sustain good health. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
