Making Medicare

Since the 1980s, Australians have had a system of universal health care that we largely take for granted. But the road there wasn't easy. Making Medicare is the most comprehensive account of Australia's long, tortuous and unconventional path towards universal health care - it was established, abolished and introduced again - and the reforms that brought it into being. This book details the policy debates that have determined the shape of health care in Australia, but it is not just about the past. The authors offer a timely overview of further reforms needed to address the challenges facing our health care system: new technologies, the ageing population and the rising tide of chronic disease.