It is widely believed that the American healthcare system needs significant reforms. Yet many proposals for change espouse previous remedies without understanding why they failed. The path forward therefore requires knowledge of how we came to our present arrangement. The U.S. Healthcare System: Origins, Organization and Opportunitiespresents a framework for understanding the dynamic relationships among the stakeholders in the healthcare arena. The method for this presentation starts with the historical development of each topic so that the current status and feasible solutions to our problems can be understood. Since healthcare management draws on many disciplines, this book draws on such fields as finance, accounting, marketing, epidemiology, organizational design and policy. Using this approach, readers will learn to develop a framework for understanding major health care issues; acquire a working knowledge of key facts about the U. S. health care system and sources for further research; and obtain a familiarity with important concepts of health care management. Through this learning, readers will be able to understand the shortcomings of current systems and the important issues which must be addressed to create value in health care.