This best-seller examines health care economics through core economic themes rather than concepts unique to the health care economy. The Sixth Edition updates content to reflect the major changes in the health policy arena. Key Topics: Introduction; Microeconomic Tools for Health Economics; Statistical Tools for Health Economics; Economic Efficiency and Cost Benefit Analysis; Production of Health; The Production, Cost, and Technology of Health Care; Demand for Health Capital; Demand and Supply for Health Insurance; Consumer Choice and Demand; Asymmetric Information and Agency; The Organization of Health Insurance Markets; Managed Care; Nonprofit Firms Nonprofit Firms; Hospitals and Long-term Care; The Physicianrs"s Practice; Health Care Labor Markets and Professional Training; The Pharmaceutical Industry; Equity, Efficiency and Need; Government Intervention in Health Care Markets; Government Regulation: Principal Regulatory Mechanisms; Social Insurance; Comparative Health Care Systems and Health System Reform; Health System Reform; The Health Economics of Bads; Epidemiology and Economics: HIV/AIDS in Africa MARKET: A useful reference for health service researchers, government specialists, and physicians and others in the health care field.