This is a clear and concise distillation of the major topics covered in the best-selling Delivering Health Care in America by the same authors. It is a reader-friendly, well-organized resource for introdcutory courses or courses requiring a concise supplemenatl text that covers the major characteristics, foundations, and future of the U.S. health care system. This fully revised third edition provides updated data and case scenarios, including expanded information on health care devlivery and its implications for vulnerable populations, current trends in corporatization and globalization, health care reform, and the changing needs of the growing population.