(A Twentieth Century Fund Book.) By David J. Rothman. 189 pp. New York, Oxford University Press, 1997. $24.95. ISBN 0-19-511118-4.
Rothman's book is an engaging, interesting, and complex one,easy to read, more difficult to evaluate. It is most obviouslya collection of essays on what the author calls "decisive momentsin the evolution of American public policy and public attitudes."There are six such moments, whose "tales," Rothman notes, cover"critical innovations" in the history of health insurance andmedical technology. Each of the resulting six chapters takesup one of these "decisive moments." Those on health insurancedeal with the origins and growth of Blue Cross, the enactmentof Medicare, and the (failed) reform effort of President Bill. . . [Full Text of this Article]
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