“Americans spend too much on health care.” “We have worse health outcomes than our European counterparts.” Talking points such as these helped drive President Obama’s controversial and sweeping health care reform into law two years ago. But are they accurate?

The OECD has undertaken a statistical analysis of the determinants of health and the relative efficiency of the health care systems of OECD member countries.

Claims of a medical malpractice crisis stem in large part from recent increases in malpractice insurance rates, with premiums for some individual doctors set in the hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Most doctors, actuaries, and insurance officials attribute these costs to the lack of caps on liability awards....

American hospitals have undergone substantial changes in the last quarter-century due to changes in medical technology, changes in payment policies by Medicare and other third-party payers, and new forms of competition from outpatient care and specialty hospitals. Still, the future of the hospital sector is a major issue in all...

Thisbook shows that it is time to rethink conventional wisdom regarding consumption of pharmaceuticals.

This volume contradicts the commonly-held belief that, among rich countries, the marginal return from pharmaceutical consumption is negligible.

Over the past several years, questions about the value and appropriate use of pharmaceuticals have intensified nationwide. Are they worth it? Can we afford them? Federal and state policymakers need better insight on these issues as they consider ways to expand access to prescription drugs. So do...