© 2003 American Public Health Association
Donald W. Light is with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Stratford. Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Donald W. Light, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, School of Osteopathic Medicine, 40 E Laurel Rd, Stratford, NJ 08084.
Britains National Health Service (NHS) was established in the wake of World War II amid a broad consensus that health care should be made available to all. Yet the British only barely succeeded in overcoming professional opposition to form the NHS out of the prewar mixture of limited national insurance, various voluntary insurance schemes, charity care, and public health services. Success stemmed from extraordinary leadership, a parliamentary system of government that gives the winning party great control, and a willingness to make major concessions to key stakeholders. As one of the basic models emulated worldwide, the NHSin both its original form and its current restructuringoffers a number of relevant lessons for health reform in the United States. This article has been cited by other articles:
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