ABSTRACT
Among Organization of Economic Cooperative and Development (OECD) member states, the United States health-care system stands out in three important ways. The first significant feature of the United States health-care system is that health-care is not a legal right of citizenship as it is in every other developed economy. The second feature of this unique health care delivery system is that it devotes the largest share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to health care expenditures of any country in the OECD. The third unique feature of the United States system is its complexity. American politics involves a struggle for influence among key political actors. In the United States, major government reform occurs in periodic windows of opportunity when these group interests, public opinion, and policy ideas converge. For much of United States history, the role of government in setting health policy has been limited.
