Includes bibliographical references and index.

Health and Health Policy -- Health Defined -- Health Policy Defined -- The Connection Between Health Policies and Health -- The Objectives of Health Policy -- The Role and Importance of Political Competence in the Pursuit of Health -- Impact of Health Policy -- Health Policy and Health Determinants -- Health Policy and Individuals, Organizations and Systems, and Interest Groups -- The Context and Process of Health Policymaking -- The Context of Health Policymaking: The Political Marketplace -- Demanders and Suppliers of Health Policies -- Interplay Among Demanders and Suppliers in the Political Marketplace -- A Conceptual Model of the Public Policymaking Process -- Policy Formulation: Agenda Setting -- Overview of the Policy Formulation Phase -- Agenda Setting -- The Influential Role of Chief Executives in Agenda Setting -- The Nature of the Health Policy Agenda -- Policy Formulation: Development of Legislation -- The Choreography of Legislation Development -- From Formulation to Implementation -- Policy Implementation -- The Cyclical Relationship Between Rulemaking and Operation -- Responsibility for Policy Implementation -- The Beginning of Implementation: Rulemaking -- Operation -- The Managerial Challenges of Policy Implementation -- Policy Modification -- Distinguishing Policy Modification from Policy Initiation -- Policymaking Is a Cyclical Process -- Incrementalism in Policymaking -- The Mechanics of the Modification Phase -- Policy Modification in Practice -- Key Structural Features of Policy Modification.